Crossed Unders in a Strip Club
by Revharem
Summary: Characters from multiple verses meet up in Lust and have fun in different ways. Will be updates as able. Not prewritten.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Untitled

When the barrier had broken, many monsters had been rushing to leave the underground and the humans had at first not received them well, many had retreated back to the underground until peace talks had been resolved and new laws set down. Now, ten years later, humans and monsters were learning to coexist much more readily, although humans still had a hard time grasping the concept of there being parallel universes where there were people who looked exactly like them, but usually acted completely different. Since the breaking of the barrier in this universe though, it had become very popular with the other universes and they often had visitors in both the underground and the above ground.

Making his way through the edge of the trees that surrounded Snowdin, Teal looked over the small town and grinned at the memories that had been made here, particularly the ones that had been made at the small pub he had started about two centuries previously. He had just moved out to this small wooded area to get away from the bustling city and when he happened upon the tiny smattering of homes, he couldn't believe that they had no public place to gather for the more explicit activities his world was known for. Back in the city one couldn't go two blocks without running into a bar, pub, or some sort of club scene all of different genres. It was even worse now that the barrier had been broken and humans came down to the underground to experience a nightlife that was as inhuman and as separate from the life they lived every day. The clubs were packed and fights were normal, though thankfully dusting was not a common occurrence.

Out here though, it was just a few citizens that kept to themselves and occasionally made passes at each other while getting a new porno at the small library. He had been lucky to have found the two skeletons that lived on the other edge of town. Sugar Plum especially. That was one small set of bones that knew how to grind the pole and make him burn hotter than was safe for normal interaction. Unfortunately his younger brother didn't like to share and made his claim on the smaller very clear in every touch he placed while they both were at the club.

Unlocking the back door so his associates could get in when they finally arrived, Teal smirked at all the times that Razzy didn't know about when he had taken Plum on almost every table, not to mention the bar itself in his pub.

Shrugging his jacket off and hanging it on the jacket bar that he kept in the back for jackets and uniforms he twitched the one that Plum would be wearing and glancing over his shoulder, leaned in to inhale the faint perfume that the young set of bones gave off. Immediately he felt a tightening in his tight black leather pants and pulled at one of the holes in his fishnet shirt as if that could help cool the rising heat that raced through him and made the normally calm blue tips of his hair flicker with green.

Moving to bar counter, Teal reached under and grabbed one of the polishing cloths, loose threads turning to cinders as his increased heat pushed the edges of the magic that kept the cloth fire safe. For the next hour or so, he just cleaned chairs and tables, making sure there was no dust from when he had cleaned up earlier this morning. He hit the switches that started the poles slow spinning and released others from their stillness so that the dancer could just spin with their own weight. There were a few that were solid poles that didn't move, those he had set up with waterworks for his more aquatic inclined dancers and clients. They turned those on when they got here as he didn't mess with water. It didn't agree with him for obvious reasons.

Moving back to the bar, he wiped over all the taps and both the customer bar and his working bar then tossed the rag cloth, which had indeed picked up some dust and debris, into the bin he kept just for bar cloths that needed washing. He then swept the main area and took chairs off the tables, starting with the ones lining the walls and then moving to the few that were placed at the tables that surrounded the poles. The center of the floor was left open for the customers to dance as they often did, though it was mostly a grinding pit with alcohol soaked bodies grinding against one another in an effort to relieve the arousal that built up from the beat and dancers.

As Teal started checking his stocks to make sure he wouldn't run out of anything, be it food or fuck's forbid, alcohol, the back door opened, admitting he could only assume Sugar Plum. The skeleton may be lazy outside of work, but when it came to the pub, he was always early. Teal liked to think it was because he liked spending time with the elemental without his brother busting in, but he knew that Razzy was Plum's true devotion and he was just a quick release that happened to keep him happily employed.

Putting his hand up to his face, he gave a gusty sigh and prayed he could keep his cool for just one more night like he did every day that Plum worked. It helped calm him down a little, and hopefully that was enough to keep the skeleton from realizing that Teal saw him as more than a quick fuck, but rather as a possible mate and partner.

Around eight Sugar Plum comes in the back and starts getting set for his shift. As one of the lead dancers of Teal's Strip Pub, he has to look his best and he always gets a good response from humans and monsters.

The first timer humans who came where often surprised and a little frightened at first, but after a few minutes they get used to seeing all the monsters and the better ones actually enjoyed the show and appreciated the effort that was put forth.

He had a bit of prep to do, but not as much as some others. He normally would put a thin coating of silvery glitter just under his eye sockets and grabbed his outfit from the rack. Teal was nice enough to take care of his uniform for him, probably guessing that if left to Plum himself, he'd either lose it or it would be crumpled after one night at his home. After all, Razzy wasn't exactly gentle on clothes when he got rushed.

Half an hour later Undyne and Muffet came through the back door, chattering about Undyne's girlfriend and how Muffet couldn't be called a tease if she let every guy into her nets. Plum tuned them out and started his stretches, leaning into lunges and bending forward and back until he could touch the floor either way while standing. He sits and does his floor stretches, including a bridge, laying back with his legs folded behind him, and twisting his back one way then the other till the vertebrae cracked with a satisfying snap. Finally, with a small push of magic, he summoned his tongue that always made the customers go nuts and felt his fangs pulse slightly. The arousal was already building in him even though he had just finished a session with Razzy before coming in. This was going to be a fun night and what better way to kick it off than to tease Teal with a private show before public opening. Grinning, he made his way out to the main floor and takes a seat at the bar.

"Well you're looking hot as ever today Teal." Plum smirks as green sparks shoot off through the other's shirt and off his hair.

"And you are earlier than normal today. What would be the occasion, or are you expecting a particular client tonight?" was Teal's reply as he tried to keep his cool. The skeleton just had to open with a pun that hit right on the heat that had been building inside of him.

"Hmmm, no one too special tonight that I can think of. Bro is gonna be held up though tonight. He has a ton on his plate with all the humans that he has contracted for tonight. Our place may actually rival this place." Plum looked around the low-lit pub and paused on each table, bench, and pole he had gotten dirty with some random monster or human. It definitely didn't help his southern situation when he realized he was on the one stool at the bar that he had not been fucked over yet. He did keep track after all.

"Then you'll have to make sure that you work extra hard for those tips tonight, won't you? I wouldn't want your brother's brothel becoming more attractive than my pub. I may lose my best dancer."

"Ah, Teal, no worries there man, this is still the hottest joint in Snowdin and _tibia_ honest, I don't think I could leave ya."

Dropping his head, Teal released a gusty sigh with a little breath of flame getting away as well.

Sugar Plum grinned a bit wider as he saw the lick of blue flame escape the victim of his puns. Leaning forward, he pushed a bit more, "What's wrong man, you seem a bit _heated_ tonight."

Before Sugar Plum could unleash another pun, Teal's hand shot across the counter and his fingers curled under his mandible and back out between his teeth. The slick magic of Sugar Plum's tongue laved around his fiery digits and started to drip out around his fangs.

"One more pun Sugar, and you'll be feeling just how hot my tip is." Hissed Teal as he dragged the skeleton partially over the counter.

Feeling the counter dig into his pelvic bones, Sugar Plum couldn't suppress moan that was dragged from him by the rough play and the pressure on his sensitive bones. "Well, you're all fired up now, eh Teal. Want some help cooling off?" His lavender heart eyelights were glowing and the erection that was trapped in his too tight leather pants was quite obvious from this angle.

Narrowing his eyes, Teal attempted to figure out what it was that Sugar Plum wanted from him. Just a quick screw, or was there more. He always got bothered when he came to work, even when he had just finished with his brother at their brothel and still had missed stains on his ribs from either his own or his brother's release. Hearing the groan brought him back to the present situation though, and when he refocused, he found the monster in front of him grinding quite provocatively against the counter, sporting a very obvious purple package. There was no way that he would be able to dance with that and not get noticed. Shaking his head, a few more sparks flew, and he none to gently pulled his skeleton over the counter.

"This will have to be quick. We open shortly and you have to be presentable. I expect a spectacular show tonight. Understand?" Teal growled, punctuating the last word with a hard thrust.

He had already pulled the pants off of their holding spots of Sugar Plum's iliac bones, leaving the opening under his tail bone wide open and ready. Since he still had a hand through the other's jaw, he really didn't expect an answer, but the high pitched whine and shaking that followed the initial jump from his large flaming dick scraping against the pubis of his partner only increased the heat that he was putting off. Running his other hand over the inside of Plum's ribcage, he felt his shivers increase and could hear the sizzling of the dried cum completely dehydrating and coming off. He'd have to be careful to not leave any burn marks or Razzy may not let Sugar Plum return. They were a marked set after all.

Teal set a fast and hard pace, grinding against the pubis on the pull, and slamming up against the tail bones on the thrust. Just as he was starting to get completely consumed, the front door's lock turned and he turned to glare at the one who would enter. He didn't want to share his skeleton, and he was not entirely in the mood to deal with the only other monster that held a key to the front door of his establishment.

With a blast of cold winter air, Amethyst stepped in and quickly closed the door. It took him a few seconds to adjust to the dim lighting of his brother's club. It was always so much darker when it was closed in comparison to the bar he ran in the Fell verse. When his eyes did adjust, he quickly turned to face the wall and covered his face with a hand. "REALLY MAN! Do you have to do that on the counter and in the front room? Don't you have back rooms for that shit! And isn't that one of your employees? What ever happened to professionalism!?"

"It's my place and I'll run it the way I want." Grunted Teal, hitting each word with a hard thrust. On the last word, Sugar Plum bit down and groaned, even as he rutted hard back against Teal as much as he could when there was no space between either him and the counter or Teal. His rutting was Teal's undoing and with a few more quick, hard thrusts, he pulled out and grabbed one of the larger mouth bottles and blew his liquid fire into it. He didn't have an extra uniform Sugar Plum at the moment anyway. His extra tank-top was actually over Teal's pillow putting its scent there were Teal could curl up into it come morning.

Looking down at Sugar Plum, who was laying quite limp in his afterglow on the floor of the serving side of the counter, Teal couldn't help feeling a bit of pride knowing he had done that to him, but then he glanced up and glowered at Amethyst. "Why are you here anyway? You hate this place." And glancing down at his employee, who was starting to come around. "Get up, we open in five and you have to straighten up." He offered a hand, which the skeleton took, the size difference apparent.

"Right, I may need an extra five Teal. Thanks for the run." Sugar Plum said, his ever present grin in place and started to limp back toward the dressing rooms. Glancing over his shoulder, he said, "Oh, hey Amethyst, hope ya enjoyed the show." His laughter followed back the hallway and the girls could be heard asking questions just barely.

"I thought I'd see if you wanted me to grab anything for home before I headed in for the night." Grumbled Amethyst, finally turning around to face his brother.

Sighing and shaking his head at the irrepressible skeleton, Teal thought for a second. "Yeah, actually. Would you mind pressing and folding up the extra uniforms I have in my room? I think their owners are gonna need them for tomorrow." He allowed a small frown of depression to come over his face. "Amethyst.." He started.

"Yeah, whatever man. Don't come whining to me when his brother kicks your ass though." Warned Amethyst, already over Teal's behavior. He may have been a native Lust verse monster, but he had managed to avoid the plague that had infected almost every monster with nearly insatiable lust. He had been glad when he heard the Grand Scientist had finally fucked the wrong monster and been Dusted for it. That man had been the one to release the poison that infected this world and made it nearly impossible to ever escape their prison.

He knew his brother wanted to talk about stuff, he had seen the depression on his face, but after walking in on THAT, he was just in no mood. Was a little restraint too much to ask for after all? He may like the lusty version of Sans, but the skeleton was obviously spoken for. What would happen if this world's version of Papyrus took on some of the traits of the Fell verse's Pap and Dusted his ass? Then what? He'd be on his own. He had absolutely no time for his brother's antics. He was going home and staying there till morning, when he'd head back out for the portal that let monsters get to the other verses and start his day and his own bar where people were a lot more civilized, if only due to the fact that if they weren't they could be Dusted without repercussion. UnderFell made so much more sense.


	2. World Explanation Author's Note

**Lust Verse Explanation!**

So for all you lovely readers who have decided to pick up and actually follow this smut filled drabble that will eventually, hopefully develop a plot worth following, I grant you a background look into just where in the timeline this world is, how it got there, and who we can expect to be seeing in later chapters so that yal know just who we are rooting for as they won't be introduce as per couples per chapter. I split them up a bit. So, here goes!

As I'm sure you all have noticed by now, we are in UnderLust! I have decided to go with the theory that Dr. W.D. Gaster created the equivalent to a bio weapon that he unleashed upon the monster population due to the birth to death balance favoring the dead. Monster kind was gonna die, so he made this "plague" that just about every monster got infected with and now has an insatiable libido. Thankfully it doesn't work on humans or those people on the surface would have had a hard time of it when the barrier broke. (Yes, it's broken already! Monster freedom!) Well, anyway, I figured this made more sense than injecting every monster with Lust as this would make sure everyone got it and nobody had to fear needles. So that's how it became Lust verse. In this fic we won't be seeing the King or Queen most likely because they are just too powerful. They are a mated pair and Toriel is a dominatrix to Asgore's submissive.

The thought I had behind how the barrier was broken is that they already had the first 6 souls, but were having a hard time obtaining the last. A soul of purity. All the humans that fell were quickly taken and raped due to the libidos of the monsters and this destroyed their purity. Frisk, darling that she is, (yes, I'm going with all female Frisks, sorry) manages to escape every encounter unscathed. Sugar Plum, aka Lust!Sans locks her up in the shed, but with the help of our lovely Amethyst she escapes and he becomes her guide, rather than Sans. (Now I know Amethyst was supposed to be a Fell monster, but I forgot, couldn't remember where he was from, and so put him here. By the time I remembered, it was too late, so suck it up!)

So, anywho! She makes her way through the underground, manages to evade Alphys and Undyne, (no special names for them), as they were too busy with each other in Undyne's hut. It was here that dear Frisk picks up an item that she knows nothing about and nearly loses her purity. Curiosity pulls her to look in the window, just to see what kinds of monster live here and she gets a little education on the item she found. More on that soon!

When she gets to the lab, rather than a killer machine, she finds our depressed sexy Mettaton. Now I don't know of any switch that will turn him back, but Frisk plays with him and helps cheer him up. Amethyst has to come along to get Frisk to move along before Alphys gets back and while Mettaton's sad at Frisk leaving, he is happy to meet another non-lusty monster. (So Mettaton may show up later in the fic, not sure yet. Sorry but he ain't paired with Amethyst, that's someone else.) When we get to the corridor, there is nobody there, as it would have normally been Sans, but he's busy elsewhere. Ehem… yeah so she just slips right on through and runs smack into queen, who is none to please at being disturbed until she realizes that hey, this kid would be a good way to shut up her mate! Or make him howl more, both thoughts were pleasing.

This is where that item that Frisk picked up comes in! Frisk can hear the king saying all kinds of rude, crude, and otherwise sexual things to get Toriel to come back and help him finish. Telling the queen that if she spares Frisk and lets her live, she will not only break the barrier, but also give her a token to quiet her man. Intrigued, Toriel demands the item with the proposal of if she likes it, she will spare the human.

Young Frisk produces a large red ball on black ribbon straps, a ball gag! She had seen Undyne explaining its use to Alphys for Alphys to use on her, and while Frisk didn't know why sounds would need to be muffled on friends, she knew the king was loud and the queen seemed to want him quiet. Taking the item, the queen vanishes into the other room and shortly there-after, the sounds from the king were muffled. The queen poked her head out the door and told Frisk she was free to go, and so she did. Flowey doesn't make an appearance, thankfully (cause I forgot about him, oops) and so Frisk makes it home, breaking the barrier and is quick to inform police of what she has gone through.

It takes years, but eventually things calm down and certain rules are set for the monsters and human so a fragile peace is made. There a monster areas and human areas. The underground will forever be a monster area, there are towns on the surface that are entirely monster inhabited, and these are designated monster areas. In monster areas, the rules that applied in the underground still hold sway, fuck or be fucked. If a human is caught and molested in these areas, it is their own fault. They take that risk in entering and there are many signs to warn travelers of the area before they enter. Some monsters have taken to trying to live in human areas. In these neighborhoods, the property of the monster is considered a monster area, but has higher, more human rules, inside the house though, that is all monster. The town is required to set signs in the vicinity to let people be aware of the monster presence and there are online trackers so people know if one lives in the area, similar to the Megan's Law that is enforced in the USA. While in public in a human area, monsters are expect to behave properly though. Not all could do this, so a lot of them stuck to the monster areas and the underground.

Frisk grew up and while not nearly kinky as to build a relationship with a monster, still kept in contact with Amethyst and ended up living with Mettaton on the Surface in a human area. They look out for each other and once he proved himself, Mettaton became a math teacher at the local school. (Guess that's what happened to Mettaton…oh well, still sounds great for him. That just popped up now as I was writing. That, my beauties, is how my writing is done!)

 **Portal and Au Explanation!**

Well, as I'm sure yal have noticed, the title is Crossed Unders in a Strip Club. Well, that's because this isn't just a Lust fic, this will have characters from other verses, some of which I have never seen written about before. I don't have a tumblr, so I can't really look up there, I just find bits and pieces while looking up marvelous devian art of sans and the amv's. In our Classic timeline, Gaster still lives, (whoop whoop) and was tracing the way the timelines could shift if something were to happen to make a worldly change. During this study, he ended up opening a void rift and it just so happens that Fell Gaster had been doing the same study, of for different reasons. Spikes (Fell Gaster, darlings, another self-made name, Fell Gaster is Spikes) has more backbone and actually reaches into the portal and ends up grabbing and pulling Gaster through to his universe. Both interested in the anomaly of meeting an alternate version of themselves, they studied the rift a bit more and soon found a way to anchor it and found many other verses besides. This became a part of the underground and the portal was anchored behind the skelebrother's house at Spikes demand. Spikes is a third brother to Sans (Fell) and Papyrus (Boss) while Gaster is just a friend from New Home.

Now some of you who over analyze stories, may ask, well, if the portal is left open or monsters visit this Lust verse where this bio weapon aimed at monsters was set of, wouldn't they just end up with the same lust problem? My answer: No, but good question. I've thought of this. Once the barrier was broken, the gas or whatever that originally infected the underground was released and in the ten years since had become quite diluted. It is still there, but not nearly as toxic. To outside monsters, it will stir them up a little, make them possibly a bit euphoric or lusty, but not in any lasting way. Also, with this dilution, the lust monsters are able to function with society better. They can interact and do more than fuck the nearest object or creature. They now have much more restraint which is why they are capable of merging to a point with society.

Now, with the portal open in so many verses, the coming and going of monsters from one verse became a common thing, but not so common that everyone was doing it. After all, the portal was located behind the skeleton's house in Snowdin, a small tucked away village on the deep edge of the underground. The lure of the surface in UnderLust was quite powerful, but monsters quickly abandoned the thought of jumping from their home to there just because of the influence that the native monsters had. Most other verse monsters didn't want to be associated as being that way, so continued to wait for their freedom in their own verses.

This fic will be including monsters from many verses as I've mentioned before, currently they include Dancetale (Sans – Hip), X-Tale (Sans – Cross), Dreamtale (Sans – Nightmare), UnderFell (Papyrus – Boss, Sans – Fell, Gaster – Spikes), UnderLust (Papyrus – Razzy, Sans – Sugar Plum, Teal – Grillby, Amethyst – Grillby #2, Undyne, Alphys), EchoTale (Frisk - ?, Gaster!Sans – Echo), Underswap (Papyrus – Honey-kun, Sans – Berry), and Creationtale (is that what Ink and Error's verse is called, idk) (Sans x 2 – Ink and Error), and Undertale (Sans, Papyrus, Gaster, Older Frisk).

I won't tell you yet just who is paired with who, but I will list each of their names and their verse at the beginning of each chapter as this has been requested by a couple people and makes perfect sense as I'm using so many verses and making some of my own names.

Finally, one more topic I want to hit on, then this over-long author's note/story explanation will be done, my apologies!

In the first chapter, it is mentioned that Sugar Plum and Razzy are a marked pair by Teal. What is going on there is that if a monster choses a mate, they can mark them with a bite or some such and it will leave a lasting mark. This is similar to how humans exchange rings and is supposed to be mutual. The one that placed the mark is then able to feel the emotions to a point from the one that they marked. It is supposed to be a way of communicating over distance or making sure that both are safe. In times of intimacy, it can prove to let the other know when too much is too much. This particular tradition is not just for Lust monsters, but for all the verses in my writing. If you don't like biting, sorry, there may be a lot of it. Not all pairings in this are already set when they are brought in, some are meeting for the first time, some it may be an ongoing dating, but not affirmed yet. By the end though, everyone will be mated. This will be a happily ever after-ish fic. I'm not planning on breaking any more verse barriers, so that a pouty face for all our buddies in the other worlds. ("Sorry guys!" author shouts to other verse pals)

Well, enjoy and hopefully I'll be able to get some more actual story hammered out soon!


	3. Hip Intro

Hip Intro

"Yo man, I gotta split! Don' let the kid be up too late wit that new point she been workin' on. OUT!" Throwing a peace out hand sign, Hip backflipped out of the studio that he and his brother had built on their second floor and caught the handrail, riding it down the stairs. Bouncing off the end, he landed with bent knees and smirked at the flawless landing. This was cake compared to the normal stunts he worked, but a landing was a landing. Running for the door he heard a yell from upstairs. Probably just his brother agreeing. Teleporting to the back of the house rather than opening the front door and going around, he immediately shrieked, hopping from foot to foot. He had forgotten to his sneaks in the studio!

The cold was too much of a distraction to open another short-cut, so he quickly half skipped around the house, trying not to fall through the newly iced top of the snow. The blizzard had just passed yesterday and the snow was at least two and a half feet deep. If he fell in, he'd be over half buried and done for. Three skips before he made the porch, the snow gave out and he rolled with the small avalanche, landing unceremoniously on his front deck now covered in white, cold, powder. His brother stood at the door shaking his head.

"I told you that you forgot your sneakers, try listening next time. Come on, once you get them on I'll give you a lift through."

Blushing a deep sapphire, Hip kept his eyes down and accepted his shoes and slipped them on. They were already tied and the laces tucked securely under the tongue. The blue high-tops brushed reassuringly against his fibulas and tibias. Bouncing in place shuffling his feet back and forth real quick he double checked that nothing had slipped, but all seemed to be in order. His track pants were wet, but they would dry off quick enough at the club.

"Thanks man. Well, gotta bounce!" Grinning he threw a salute and hopped sideways, opening a portal at the same time, dropping him again at the portal behind his house.

"Hip, stop being so lazy and cut the puns, they lack any self-respect!" demanded his brother loudly from the front of the house. He knew that Hip had only been going to the back of the house and would hear him.

"Pfft, where's the fun in that!" Hip huffed as he stepped into the inter-universal portal and into UnderLust Snowdin. He knew he was in the right place when he heard a loud whistle from above him. He glanced up and grinned, "Hey Razzy, how's biz? Yo bro around?"

Immediately the cheerfully suave demeanor of the taller native skeleton vanished with his normal grin. To a stranger he would still appear to be grinning, due to his bone structure, but Hip knew better. "Sugar Plum went to work a while ago." Razzy sighed, looking away.

Looking around, Hip shrugged, it was still early, he could spare a few moments for a friend. "You wanna talk, man? Somethin's obviously eatin' at cha. With a frown like that, you'll scare off all your customers." He tried to be light, whatever was bugging his brother's look-a-like was pretty serious.

Razzy's head snapped back, looking at him surprised. Most outsider monsters knew better than to offer condolences to a Lust verse monster. Checking him quickly, Razzy could see no visible threat, either in his posture or in a material object. He also couldn't help but notice that his build was slightly taller than his brother's and a slight bit more bulky. Quite an attractive figure to be sure. Shaking his head, he tried to clear it of such thoughts, that was not Hip's offer, and he knew it! "Yeah, I could use an ear if you don't mind." He raised his eyes and couldn't be sure, but it looked that there was a flicker of uncertainty in him now. He glance around once more then nodded.

"K, I'll be right up then." He threw up his arms over his head and fell back, then disappeared.

Razzy's sockets widened and he leaned further out the window. He had never seen that trick, where had the kid gone? Springs creaking behind him had him turning and pulling back into his room. There was Hip, _laying in his bed_! What was he up to! Swallowing hard, Razzy moved to the vanity on the other side of the room and grabbed one of the cloths there and dipped it in the cold water in the sink and dabbed at his crown and neck. Kid didn't know anything, did he?

"So what's raggin' at you? You're brother go and do something stupid like nick the panties of Mrs. Bunny again?" Hip mused, tracing the patterns of the stucco on the ceiling with his hand in the air.

"No." Razzy said depressed. He remembered that. It had been a bit funny, but then his brother had let her ride him and Razzy hadn't liked that all. Through their bond, he knew Sugar Plum hadn't either, but he offered it as repayment for the embarrassment. "Hip, have you ever placed a mating mark on someone?" he asked suddenly, after being quiet for a couple minutes. Glancing over, he saw that the skeleton had stopped moving, seemingly frozen with his hand still strained up, the black, fingerless gloves outlining his metacarpals just so finely. The way his hand was turned, he could see the pure white bone clearly through one of the slices in the back of them.

Slowly retracting his hand to his chest, Hip was quiet for a few minutes. "That is not normally a question that you should just ask of anyone, Razzy. Why do you want to know?" The skeleton's normally light, deep voice was very hard, as if he was controlling some roiling emotion underneath.

"OH, I had no idea that was a touchy subject. I'm sorry!" Razzy immediately insisted, crossing the room and clutching Hip's hands tightly in his own and looking into his eyes, which were closed, not even allowing Razzy to see the pinpricks of light that normally lived there like small northern stars.

Sighing, Hip said, more to himself than Razzy, "Of course you didn't. That's the greatest sin of this verse. Not the Lust, but the ignorance of common courtesy. Forgive me, I had forgotten. To answer your question, yes, I have marked myself a rather handsome fellow. He actually is the one that told me about the club here and that they actually pay for quality dancing." Opening his eyes, he noticed just how close Razzy had gotten, but didn't pull away. He hadn't made any moves toward him yet, other than holding his hand in apology. "Can I have my hand back dude, I'm kinda gonna need it later." He grinned, trying to hide his uncomfortability with the contact.

"Huh, oh, yeah, sorry." Razzy quickly released Hip's hands and moved back over to the window in the hopes that the cold air would help him chill out. Meanwhile, Hip carefully rubbed the sides of his hands, eyes not leaving the other.

"So why'd you ask about my mate?" he grilled. If he had to give out personal info, he wanted to know why. He trusted Razzy, but he also had come here hoping to help him.

Razzy jumped at the question. "Uh, well, um, It's Sugar Plum. I marked him when I was really little and without his consent, and now I can feel how he feels towards others, a particular other in fact. I feel that he's happy with them and not with me. He never marked me in return, so I don't think he knows how much it is bothering me, but I don't want to let him go. He's my brother, but I can't imagine being mated with anybody else. The confusing part is, he's just as happy when he's around me. It's like he has the mate love for both me and this other monster. Do you ever have that with your mate?" Tears were pricking at the corner of his eyes as he described this to Hip. He had never told a soul that he had marked Sugar without his consent.

Hip's sockets were wide and the pricks of light in his eyes were more like orbs now, coalescing into spheres of light. "Dang man, no, we never have that problem with having mating feelings with another, but if you marked him without consent, then maybe that's why? Is it possible that you're confusing brotherly love with mating love?" Hip asked hopefully. He had heard of successful polyamorous monsters and humans, but not many.

"No, I'm positive it's mating love. He didn't have these feeling toward our parents, when they were around. Is it selfish of me to want him for only myself? I don't want to share him, but I can't keep him here, he would resent me. He really loves this other guy. Do you think he'd mark him while he's still marked by me? Can he do that?" Razzy was now pacing the room, hands flying as he gestured harshly to release energy and just vent. He finally turned to Hip, "Well?"

Sitting up and folding his legs to the side, Hip held up a finger, signaling for Razzy to give him a little more time to think. A groan distracted him and he glanced up to see Razzy thunking his head against the padded outer wall next to his window.

Confused, Hip looked around, and then realized where and how he was seated, and the pink fluffy slippers that were much too small for the larger skeleton. This was his private room that he probably shared with Sugar, and Hip had been laying and relaxing all over _their bed_! No wonder the other was getting worked up. He had to tie things up before things got out of hand, quickly, either that, or diffuse the situation. He definitely didn't have what it took to keep up with the larger skeleton. He had a hard time with Amethyst, who had been mostly unaffected by the plague, this guy had it bad, and would likely have a much higher stamina.

Taking a deep breath, Hip spoke up, "Uh, Razzy man, have you heard of poly relationships? Like when a person has more than one lover or mate? Try sitting down with Sugar and this other guy and talking to them. I'm sure you can work something out!" His voice jumped in pitch at the end as Razzy had spun and to look at him when he started talking. Now he was making his way toward him, the look in his eyes far from reassuring. "Razzy, dude, calm down, I gotta go!" Looking toward the door or the window, he realized his only way out was a teleport. He had to move to get through one though. Razzy was nearly to him and he wasn't even sure his last words had reached the skeleton. Heck with a landing, Hip rolled off the other side of the bed, opening a portal and hoped he'd land somewhere safe. The sudden connection with wood certainly didn't feel good, but the scent of bourbon was a reassurance along with the absence of pink that had adorned the room of Razzy.

"I know I said drop by anytime, but you can use the door next time, right?" Came the melodious voice of Teal to his left.

Groaning, Hip sat up, rubbing his head with one hand and his lower back with the other. "Yeah man, sure." He stopped abruptly, catching the scent of very recent intercourse. It had been present at Razzy's, but that was a brothel, no surprise, but here, Teal made sure the place was always spotless and lightly perfumed at the start of each night. He spun to look at Teal, then realized he was on the bar, and now the elemental was between his legs. "Aw fuck." He groaned.

"Is that a request, or just an explicative?" asked the bartender amused but serious at the same time.

Waving his hand, Hip quickly answered, "Second one, definitely second!" and with his other hand quickly pushed himself up and back over the bar, doing a back summersault, just to misjudge and slide into the table and crack his skull against it. "Uhg, not gonna be a good night at this rate." He grumbled.

Teal quickly set down the mug he had been polishing with his bar cloth and made his way around the bar to check on the skeleton. He seemed to be very disoriented, not at all like he had been the few other times he had dropped in to visit. "Whoa kid, calm down and take it slow, everything okay?" His brow scrunched as he looked over him, looking to see if there were any physical signs of what may have scared him. He was jumpy for some reason.

"Slow, yeah, that's not really, one of my speeds, man, but I may jus have to try it." Hip groaned and closed his eyes as he rubbed the back of his head. That table had been hard, and right after smacking his head off the bar too. "Sorry man, didn't mean to jump your table here, guess I'm just excited to finally have a gig, heh." He mumbled, trying to cover his trip-ups by blaming them on nerves.

"Hmm, how about you have a drink and talk about it, maybe we can ease those nerves, we still got a few minutes. First customers don't usually trickle in till about a quarter after six." Looking at the clock, he nodded, six ten now, plenty of time to calm the kid down. "So what'll it be?" Teal asked, making his way back to the bar. His proximity didn't seem to be helping the Dance verse kid, so maybe distance would.

"You got a monster stashed somewhere over there?" Hip asked waving as he cracked his eyes and wished he didn't. Teal was wearing ass-less chaps and his blue ass looked firm and well outlined.

Teal quirked his brow. "This is the underground, there are lots of monsters here. What exactly you looking for?" He asked, knowing what the skeleton was looking for, but unable to resist the play. Perhaps Sugar Plum was rubbing off on him.

"I walked into that one. The black cherry please, chilled, no ice." Pushing himself up from the floor, he made his way over to the bar and hauled himself up onto the stool. His feet dangled, but this was the lowest part of the bar so he could actually set his elbows down and rest his face in his hands.

"Coming right up" said Teal with a smile that could be heard.

"What's so funny, eh?" groused Hip.

"What isn't amusing about a monster drinking a monster in this fucking world?" laughed Teal as he slid the drink across the bar. He wouldn't say the real reason. Hip was sitting in the exact same spot Sugar Plum had been only minutes before.

After thinking for a moment, Hip nodded and smiled, raising his glass, "To _humerus_ names, bad puns, and clumsy landings. May the night only get better!"

Teal smirked and raised a shot glass of something or other, and they both took a hit from their respective drinks.

"That hits the spot." Gasped Hip, eyes going wide and rocking in his seat. "Thanks man." He raises a fist and Teal meets him, sealing a fist bump.

"So what really had you so jumpy?" Asked Teal, going back to cleaning glasses.

"Hmm, oh, was talking to Razzy and didn't pay attention like I should have. Had to get out quick." He shrugged like it was a common occurrence. In this world, stuff like that was par for course, so he couldn't complain. He knew the risks entering a Monster Zone in this world as they were dubbed. He didn't have to look up to know that Teal was watching him. The squeaking of the glass had stopped. "I'm fine now though. It just shook me up a bit, all ready to go!" with that, he downed the last of his drink as if to prove a point and set it solidly back on the bar. Spinning to face the dance floor and hopped off. Stretching with his fingers intertwined, he reached for the ceiling, going up on his toes, then bent to touch his toes, going into a forward roll that took him to the center of the room where he spun on alternating hands. Catching a sneaker against the polished floor, he spun up to a standing position, finished a seven-twenty spin, and bowed to Teal. Looking up, he grinned.

Smirking, Teal nodded and clapped a few times. "Alright, I'm guessing you are going to stick to the floor then? Why don't you go check on Sugar Plum and see if you can't figure a choreography so you don't distract from each other."

"Sure thing, he's in back, right?" Hip was already halfway down the hall.

"You know the way." Called Teal. He looked toward the hallway. He was well used to his world and their ways, but since the barrier break, he had learned quite a bit on proper behavior. He now knew how to conduct oneself around those who weren't there for sex. For Razzy to go after Sugar or his clients like that was one thing, but to go after Hip, a stranger who just stopped to talk. Razzy should have more restraint by now. He shook his head, and Amethyst thought he was bad.

Undyne smiled at Hip as she and Muffet slipped down the hallway toward the main floor. "So you're joining us today sweet thing? Hope you can keep up." She laughed and Muffet covered her mouth with two of her right hands as she giggled and slanted her eyes a bit.

"Oh, I hear he is quite the showman on the floor, 'dyne dear."

"Ha, we'll see about that!" crowed Undyne. "Sugar Plum is the best pole dancer in this universe. I don't know how he can hope to rival that boy."

"Oh, I don't dance on a pole, I break dance. Teal thought I might be able to bring a bit more pump to the club." Hip challenged back teasingly. He always loved a good challenge when it came to talent in dancing. Anything else and he couldn't be bothered, but dance, that was literally what he lived for. He did come from a universe made for dancing after all.

Undyne snorted and tossed her long, glossy, flowing hair, "We'll see kid." And made her way down the hall. Muffet watched him a few more seconds before following.

Blowing a breath at the close call, Hip pushed open the door for the powder room that was shared among all the dancers. Privacy apparently wasn't an issue here as it also served as a changing room if the pile of clothes under the clothing rack were anything to go by. A pair of electric blue leggings, a pink vest, and fuzzy topped black boots where piled there, and looked to be about the same size as what he wore himself, though he couldn't see himself in something so provocative. Looking around, he saw one of the powder tables on the other side of the room had a form in a purple hooded vest that had cyan faux fur lining with their head down. He made his way over. Sugar Plum was nothing if not recognizable in his finely pressed uniform.

"Yo man, we gotta hit the floor, what you openin' wit? Teal don' wan' us distracting the crowd from ta other?" Hip easily slipped into his slang, feeling at ease next to his look-a-like. Up close, he could tell that this dancer was smaller in many ways, and could see why that made him appealing to so many. Being small often made people see you as someone who needed to be taken care of and so they fell to the trap of a pretty face and smooth moves even easier. He had seen it in his verse, and he had seen it happen to monsters and humans the few times he had visited when they watched this master dancer.

Breaking him from his reverie, Sugar Plum groaned and sat up, "I don't think I can go out yet, I need another ten. Damn, Teal must have been really bound up, he barely held back at all. It felt so good, but fuck if I'm not sore!"

Hip's eyes widened as he connected the dots. "Holy shit, you don't mean that Teal is the one that your brother is getting all jealous over, that is just twisted!"

Sugar Plum spun around. "How does he know about what I'm doing?" his eyes were wide, almost like he was scared.

"Dude, he marked you, he feels what you feel to a point. He knows every time you fuck and what you feel for others. It's really getting to him. He really loves you and doesn't want to lose you, but you keep hurting him. Do you even realize what it is to be marked?" Hip was starting to realize just how bad Razzy had it, and possibly why he had gotten riled so easily. If his marked had just gotten fucked, then no wonder he was horny.

"I never really knew how it worked. I've never marked anyone. I love my brother sure, but I love Teal. Can I love two people equally like that? Would it be fair to them if I accepted them both? I can't lose my brother, but I don't want to give up Teal, he is my world." The purple tears forming at the edges of his sockets gave away just how much the topic was getting to him, and how much thought he had likely already put into the problem.

Putting a hand on Sugar Plum's shoulder, Hip tried to reassure him. "Hey, calm down. I tried to tell Razzy cause he asked me for advice, why don't all three of you sit down and talk it out. I'm sure you all can work something out in your own way. It'll work out, I'm sure of it." He grinned reassuringly as Sugar Plum turned to look up at him.

"You really think so?"

"Yep, multi-person relationships are more common all the time. It just takes a lot of trust and communication. At least, that's what I've heard. And if it turns out that you only go for one or the other, I'm sure both sides will understand and accept you. They both seem to care for you a ton."

"Thanks man. Mind if I give ya a hug. You're really smart for a street slicker."

"Ya learn a lot on the streets man." Hip smirked, stepping in closer and giving the smaller skeleton a comforting hug, then stepping back. He had had enough of lusty encounters for now, he didn't need to strike one up here by lingering too long. "I'd better get out there. I'll let Teal know that you need a few more minutes, but don't take too long, 'kay?"

"Sure thing, wouldn't want you stealing all the attention on your first night. Ha!"

Making his way back up front, Hip stopped before the counter, stepping behind it, and got Teal's attention. "Sugar's gonna need a little more time. You apparently really did a number on him."

Teal's face colored a pale green, contrasting cutely against his normally orange flames and complementing the teal tips of his hair that got him his name.

"By the way, I know it's none of my business, but I'd recommend sitting down and talking with Sugar Plum and Razzy. Someone is going to be hurt if something isn't done soon. I have a bad feeling it will end up him." Hip nodded toward the back. "He really likes you both, according to Razzy, about the same amount. Think on it. I don't like seeing my pals hurting."

Teal nods, the blush fully faded now, and looks to the back, somewhat worried. "Thank you Hip. I'll see what I can do in the morning. If I knew that Sugar Plum actually reciprocated my feelings, I may have done something sooner. I didn't realize he was hurting because of me."

"Well, now that everyone on all sides knows, it can get taken care of! Now, let's have a good night and enjoy the music. Wanna jump start it?" Asked Hip, going around the bar and toward the center of the floor, which was clear.

Smiling, Teal only shook his head and moved to the music controls behind the counter and started turning on the speakers and amps for around the floor and pulled the mix tapes he had set up for tonight. He was running an industrial mix for the beginning and when things picked up, he would probably move to either pop, hip-hop, or bass boosted. It all depended on the mood of the crowd and how the votes went in the first two hours, and so started the night as the bass dropped, the strobes started there motions, and a few of the Dog Clan made their way in and toward their normal booth.


	4. Frisk and Frysk

Frisk and Frysk

Sitting curled up on the couch watching the tail end of the Mettaton show with Sans snoring next to her, Frisk smiled. He looked so worn out when he slept, as if the happy mask he kept up all day really wore him out. She knew that waiting for the barrier to come down was a big thing for all of them and the letdown of not being able to just move to that verse that had managed it had broken more than a few monsters. They just kept getting their hopes dashed. Sans just wanted a happy surface life for his brother. She just knew that Papyrus would love the surface. He was infatuated with the idea of birds, especially blue jays. It never took much to entertain the young minded giant. She had been running her hand over San's skull, enjoying the feeling of the soft but hard texture under her hand when she felt him move.

"Hey kiddo, that crap on tv almost over. I was planning on going out to the bar tonight, I'm only here cause you asked." He pushed himself up from where he had been laying on her lap. Blearily he blinked and rubbed a hand over his skull, right where her hand had just been.

"Yeah, it just ended. He did really good today. You missed a great show tonight." She mumbled, looking down to try and cover her blush. "Thank you for hanging out with me though, I know you don't really care for it. Sorry to keep you…" She trailed off.

He sighed. "You can't keep doing this to yourself, kid. I already told you that I don't feel like that for you. Try getting out and meeting some other people. Heck, with that verse that has the broken barrier, you might even be able to get yourself a decent human instead of a slob like me, heh. Think about it, 'kay?" He refused to meet her eyes. He honestly felt bad about pushing her away, but she was more like an adopted little sister. He had raised her since she fell into the underground ten years ago. Now twenty years old, she had ideas that he couldn't fathom entertaining. He just couldn't do it. It would be like trying to be with his brother. Just not possible.

"Yeah, okay. I'll do that." She huskily said looking away depressed. The glint of tears was apparent, but she fought them, not wanting to show how much it hurt. Being pushed away and family zoned hurt more than she would ever admit to the skeleton.

"Well, I'm going out. Let Pap know if you're going anywhere. I don't know when I'll be coming back in." With that he turned and walked out into the chill air of Snowdin.

Looking through the window, she could see him walking towards Grillby's, just like he said he was. Flopping back on the couch, Frisk clutched one of the threadbare pillows to her chest and curled around it. She didn't open up to many people. She got along with the monsters in this verse well enough, but she didn't really venture out to the other verses. That was Gaster's thing. Ever since he had been pulled through that blip he had made in the back, he had bouncing all over the timelines. She was just glad he hadn't landed in one of those Genocidal timelines. It would break the king's soul to lose Gaster. They were really close friends.

Walking into the bunker, Frysk set her rifle beside the door and re-secured the snaps holding the knives on her hips in their sheaths. She didn't need to be so prepped at home. Echo was sitting at the table, tracing paths on the map that was laid out there. "Hey Echo, anything new around the ruins or still quiet?" she asks as she moves around the large round table and goes to grab the spiced hot chocolate mix in the cupboard. It always helped dispel the chill she got from being outside.

She never managed to find adequate clothes since falling, so had to make do with what she had. The cloth from the shirt she had fallen in now made a much shorter shirt, and the jeans had long since been modified to shorts just to keep her covered. When she had found a set of leggings one day, that had been a gift from the surface she couldn't refuse. Her shoes were normally made from the pelts of critters that had not survived the fall into the underground. In this world of war, she made do with what she could get.

Turning, now nearly done preparing her drink, she looked at her friend and savior. He still hadn't answered and his yellow eyes seemed to be very intent on the map. "Echo? What's up?" She walked over to stand beside him and looked at the part of the map that he seemed to be focused on.

"That strange anomaly that appeared a few weeks ago in the wood over here, you know the one, well, there were foot prints outside of it today. And it looks like someone else may have found it and actually approached it." At this, he pulled up a cigarette and lit it, the butts of half a dozen in the ashtray that was emptied every 'night'.

"Um, I may have actually checked it out the other day." Frysk looked down at her ratty shoes as she pushed her toes into the dirt floor. She actually had real shoes now, since she had stepped through it and into a different version of the underground. They had a lot of stuff and she had gotten the converse style pretty easily. She knew Echo was glaring at her.

"What have I told you about taking risks? We have no idea what that thing is or what it's for." He growled. Pushing off the table, he walked toward the doorway, which was only covered by a ragged piece of cloth to keep the worst of the wind out. He took the cigarette out of his mouth and sighed through his nose, the smoke billowing out between his teeth and largely out of the cavity that was his nose. It all joined the haze that rested against the ceiling and slowly filtered out through the door.

"Well, we weren't finding anything out by just waiting, so I checked it out. Turns out it is like a portal to other undergrounds. Places that are better than this hole. I ended up meeting a Gaster who claims to have helped create it. He explained it to me. I don't understand everything, but it is basically like the portals that Sans used to make but instead of jumping to parts of our own world, we can jump to a set spot in other worlds." She explained.

Echo glared at her. "So you got to meet Gaster, eh? That isn't possible. I am Gaster and Sans. They don't exist anymore due to their own selfish folly. Get over it, they ain't comin' back. You're stuck with me." With that, Echo turned and stomped out.

Narrowing her crimson eyes, Frysk ground her teeth. "You, you, you're so frustrating!" she growled to the now empty room. Slamming down her drink, spilling a few drops, she grabbed her ratty shawl and her gun and pushed back out into the cold. She was too angry to sit at home. Pushing through the snow that quickly soaked through her leggings, she made her way to the portal. Echo may not like it, but she had friends there and they at least could be sympathetic! She didn't watch around her or look around as she pushed up to the portal and stepped through without any hesitation.

Watching and glaring in exasperation, Echo dragged a hand over his face. That girl could be such a pain at times. She probably didn't even know about the verses that were worse than this one. He knew that blowing up at her was likely not the best reaction, he was just over-protective. If the king got her, she'd be shackled and experimented on until she died, then her soul held captive until enough were collect to break the damn barrier. He knew what the portal was, but had wanted to keep it secret and to keep her away from it. He had actually went through a few times himself, and nearly got dusted a few times too. Some of those little skeletons in the dark verses had quite the evil streak. Shaking his head, he went to go do another patrol. Maybe he'd go to one of the bars in the other verses later to grab a drink. Amethyst had a nice place in Fell and with his Love, he didn't have much to fear from the monsters there.

Blinking in the clearer, brighter landscape of Undertale's bright crystals that shown down from the cavern ceiling so far above, Frysk enjoyed the open area. To her left was the laboratory where Gaster could be heard shuffling around and talking to himself through the window. These monsters had so much less to worry about. Walking up to the lab door, she gave a quick knock and peeked in. "Hey G, is it okay if I drop my stuff in the corner here?" She called.

He looked up. "Oh, hey Frysk. What do you have with you today?"

"Just my rifle and a few knives." Seeing a few new blueprints on the board, she realized he had probably started some new project. "Whatcha workin' on?" she asked, stepping into the workshop.

"Oh, just some improvements for the core. I'm hoping to make it a bit more stable so that we might be able to get power to the ruins more efficiently. Sans mentioned that a friend of his that lives there has been having some trouble." He looked at her directly. Why don't you put your things over here in this cabinet? This way nobody will get curious and hurt themselves and I can keep an eye on them. We don't want anybody dusting themselves accidentally, now do we?" He smiled, though it seemed a bit wan.

Frysk knew that her Love and Exp unnerved a lot of monsters here, but it wasn't as high as Echo's. They would probably freak if the met him. "Sure thing. Thanks G. Is Frisk inside? I was hoping I could talk to her and maybe get her out of the house. I met a cool group the other day I wanted to introduce her to." Her voice echoed as she carefully set the rifle in the small cupboard and took off the belt and garter knives and laid them on the floor next to it.

She pulled her head out just in time to hear Gaster reply, "Yeah, she's inside. Take care now." Apparently he had noticed one of his variables or something didn't match up and was once again absorbed in his work.

Grinning, she slipped behind the stalk-like monster and out the door, closing it quietly. It felt weird to walk around without her weapons, but she knew that it made everyone feel better if she was unarmed. She felt naked. Coming around the side of the house, she glanced through the window and saw Frisk curled up around a pillow on the couch, crying again. What was it now, some sad tv drama or such? That girl was so easy to disturb. Smiling, Frysk made her way up the porch and knocked.

Hearing a knock at the door, Papyrus stuck his head out of his room. "ARE YOU EXPECTING ANYONE, HUMAN?" he yelled into the open area.

"No, but I'll go check it out. Probably just someone looking for Grillby's or the portal anyways." Frisk weakly called back. "Go on back to your game."

"Come on Pap, I almost had you!" She heard Undyne snap from in Papyrus's room. They were playing Mario Kart on his new Nintendo Switch. That was one perk of the broken barrier in the verse on the other side of the portal. They got better stuff that didn't have water damage. It made living in the underground much more comfortable.

Upon reaching the door, Frisk didn't even bother checking the spy hole and opened the door. So her surprise to see a taller, shabbier version of herself standing there with hand on hip was quite unexpected. "Uh, Frysk, I wasn't expecting you. Wanna come in?" She quickly scrubbed at her eyes, hoping the tracks of her tears weren't still visible. She wasn't a pretty crier, and knew the signs would likely still be there, but she could try at least.

"Sure would, it's chilly out here." Before stepping in, she smacked her toes off the wood of the porch, knocking the worst of the snow off and scraped her soles on the mat as she stepped in, a small courtesy she remembered from before she fell.

This time it was Undyne who poked her head out of Papyrus's room. "Hey Frysk, that bonehead still treating you like shit?" she called down.

"Yeah, but nothing has changed there. I would be worried about him if he didn't." She laughed back. Waving the fish woman back to her game as Papyrus called from in the room. Undyne grinned, showing her sharp, shark like teeth, and vanished back into the room.

The silly sounds from the game were all that were heard for a few seconds before Frisk broke the silence. "So, uh, what brings you here?" she couldn't meet Frysk's gaze. She was so weak in comparison and with her cheeks still puffy from crying, she knew it would do little to improve her impression to the feistier girl.

Hearing a deep sigh, Frisk looked up and looked at Frysk. "Alright girly, out with it. Why are you crying this time? And if it's because of some stupid show, I'm leaving." She said, jerking a thumb over her shoulder toward the door as she crossed the room and dropped into the recliner chair and promptly sunk into the plush cushions.

"N-no, it, it wasn't a show. It's nothing, really. I'm dealing with it. I'll be fine. Don't worry about it. I'll be fine." Mumbled Frisk, wringing her hands absent-mindedly as she sat back on the love seat before she grabbed a pillow that she held close to her stomach.

"The hell it is. Now out with it. What's eating you?" demanded the brasher woman in a harsh, but caring voice.

Frisk looked up again, surprised by the pushiness of the other and found her eyes locked by the crimson ones boring into her. "It's, uh, it's just Sans. I, I really like him, but he doesn't feel the same. He'll cuddle with me and say he loves me, but then he say's I'm family and he can't see me as more than that. I know he raised me since I was ten and all, but, I don't know. I really like him. I don't know how to deal with this?" She was bordering on crying again and kept her gaze on her knees, which she had drawn up to her chest.

"Huh, believe it or not, I've been there hun, and it's not nothing. To be able to feel something that closely, that's special. I had a thing for Echo for a while. I finally realized that if I wanted to keep our friendship, I had to kill the feelings I had for him. It wasn't easy, but we work pretty well together now." Frysk threw a hopeful and cynical glance at the frailer girl. She was so sheltered. Her words didn't even seem to reach through her depression. "That's it! We're going out! Grab your shoes. I'm not leaving you here to pout all day." Exclaimed Frysk. "Hey Papyrus, you hear that. I'm stealing your kid for the evening. Gotta problem with that?" she yelled up to the gamers.

"HAVE FUN HUMANS! GAH, UNDYNE, THAT WASN'T FAIR!" was heard from upstairs.

"What, but I don't want to go out!" gasped Frisk, eyes wide. Frysk grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the door. Realizing she didn't have much of a choice, Frisk quickly grabbed her white-toed, black sneakers and slipped them on as the stronger girl towed her out the door. "Sheesh, you could have waited for me to at least get these tied and for me to grab a coat." Grumbled Frisk, briskly rubbing her arms in between tying her shoes.

"Then we would be waiting all day, besides, in the light, it's not all that cold." Was the other's response.

"You're crazy." Muttered Frisk grouchily.

"Yep, now let's go, time's a-wasting." Frysk grabbed her hand and started towing the smaller girl through the snow toward the back of the house.

"Uh, exactly where were you planning on going?" Frisk asked, eyes widening, realizing they were headed toward the portal.

"A pal of mine is working at this bar I know, you'll love him. He's like those kids in those movies you watch." Frisk gave her a strange look, obviously trying to figure out exactly which kids and which movies she was alluding to. "You'll see." Frysk laughed. Passing Gaster's door, she paused and stuck her head in. "Hey G, I'm taking Frisk to the Club, I'll see that she gets home safe, okay. Bye!" Before she could get a response she was pulling Frisk again.

"The Club, no way. I can't go there! You're nuts!" Frisk started digging in her heels.

Shrugging, Frysk spun around and picked her up bridal style, quickly disorienting her and stepped through the portal. "May not want to yell so much now. Attract the wrong kind of attention and we may get in trouble." Frysk couldn't help smirking at her double who was crimson.

"Not nice." Frisk pouted, but kept quiet and quit struggling and followed silently.

They heard a 'twump' from the second floor of the house next to them which attracted Frisk's attention. "Pay it no mind and keep moving." Hissed Frysk. Apparently even she wasn't comfortable moving through this verse. Frisk quickly moved closer. Cat calls chased them as they crossed the open area in the middle of the small village, but nobody approached them. Frisk put it down to Frysk's increased stats, Frysk just ignored them, she was used to being looked at strange in her own universe.

Frisk felt a tugging on her jeans and looked down to her side and saw a monster kid. She paused and the kid asked, "Will you play with my friends and me?" He blushed and she quickly realized his meaning when one of his hands crept lower on himself.

"Not right now, I have to be somewhere. Bye." Even as she finished speaking Frysk came back and grabbed her and pulled her along.

"Stay close to me. The kids here are just a bad, if not worse than the adults. A monster in this verse has more stamina than you could ever hope to match. Don't make eye contact and just keep moving." Her voice was low so it wouldn't carry, but the warning was clear.

"Right, sorry."

Shortly after, they reached the front door to the club. It was a large brick building with a heavy wooden door and only small windows near the roof that let excess heat escape. It looked very forbidding, like a place Frisk shouldn't be near. Frysk on the other hand, walked right up to the door and opened it, gesturing with her head that Frisk get in now. Eyes wide, she scurried in and moved to the side, waiting by the doorway for Frysk to come in. She was right behind her, so it wasn't much of a wait.

Frysk gestured at an empty booth and called to her over the loud music that neither could hear from outside, "I'll go grab us some drinks. I'll grab you a soda to start. Go sit down."

Frisk nodded and made her around the tables and sat gingerly in the booth, then took a chance to look around. Across the room, there was a small pack of dogs who were both familiar and not. They probably belonged to this world if their outfits were anything to go by. All but one that is. One looked meaner, with a spike collar, but he was quite distracted and just as she noticed what was happening over there, a skeleton, one much prettier than Sans, sashayed over to her table and leaned against her table.

"Hey darlin'. I haven't seen you in here before. Why don't you come over to _my_ table and I'll give you a little appetizer until this place picks up?" He grinned easily and the silver glitter accentuated his heartlights quite nicely.

"Um, my friend told me to wait for her here." Frisk was instantly confused and entranced. This stranger was obviously an alternate Sans, but he was nothing like the one she knew.

"Oh, I don't think she'll mind. We'll stay where she can see. Wouldn't want her to miss the show, now would we?" That easy smile was still in place as he lightly dragged the edges of his phalanges up her arm.

"Sh- show?" she stammered, flushing despite herself.

"Mmm, hmm. I'm a dancer here, you see. And I'm offering to give you a personal table dance, if you'd be so kind as to accompany me to the table and watch. If you wanna touch though, it'll cost." His grin, grew, if that were possible. He appeared to be very confident in his ability.

"So there won't be any touching, ri-, right?" Frisk choked.

"Not unless you want to doll." He winked and extended a hand.

"O-, Okay." She accepted his hand and let him lead her to one of the tables she had passed on her way to the booth.

He quickly boosted himself up onto one of the stools and then to the table. He crouched, back to her, showing off his high hip bones that jutted just a bit above the tight, shiny, black, skinny, leather pants he wore. He pushed a button and the center of the table lifted a bit more, giving him a smaller area to place his blue booted feet, but raising him to a comfortable viewing height. He started spinning on the pole, flashing her tempting smiles and winks, gradually working up until he was lifting himself up the pole in all sort of positions and grinding it in time with the music.

At some point Frysk came back with the drinks and sat next to her friend, dropping a ten in the little cubbies that were in the raised part of the table. She grinned at the dancer and turned to talk to Frisk. "Looks like you've already met Sugar Plum. He's the star dancer at this joint. Getting a free dance is nothing to brush off. He is regularly a very expensive dancer." Her eyes never left him, and didn't miss the wink he threw her.

Smirking, she blew him a kiss. He reached out, as if to catch it, clutched it to his chest, and spun backwards, going lower and lower, until he was folded down on himself, his head hanging off the edge of his platform.

Grinning, Frysk leaned forward and quickly placed a peck on his teeth, and dropped a hundred in the cubie. Frisk's eyes grew wide. That was a lot of money in the underground.

Pulling himself back into a standing position while he spun, released his tongue, running it over his teeth, lingering on his fangs.

Frisk now couldn't tear her eyes from his movements. She was completely entranced. Bending at the waist, his peppermint breath washed over her. Seconds later, she realized had spoken. "I'm sorry, what?" she asked, trying to get her jellified mind to work.

He grinned again, raising a brow. "That's all for now darlin'. I got paying customers coming in now. Come back anytime." He winked and waved.

"Uh, sure." Frisk stumbled off her stool and Frysk had to grab her and her drink.

"Come on. I told you he was the best, but he's not who we're here to see. Come over here." Frysk pushed through a crowd the other girl hadn't seen come in until they got close to the center. Break dancing in the center of the throng was another Sans like skeleton in long black track pants with a white stripe up the leg and a sapphire blue hoodie. "This is Hip, he's an amazing dancer and a good friend of mine. He's also free to watch, just keep your distance as his boyfriend gets really territorial and is a bit of a hot-head." With that, Frysk disappeared into the crowd.

Frisk had a drink in her hand and took a deep drag without looking. She nearly choked as she realized it was likely Frysk's. The fruity flavor and harsh burning in her nose told her it was alcohol. She forced herself to swallow and went back to watching in amazement as 'Hip' as this skeleton was called, kept doing new moves that seemed impossible and held her attention just as easily as 'Sugar Plum' had. As she watched and looked closer she could see how he differed from Sans, a bit taller, a little thinner, definitely more active. His smile wasn't forced, he was actually enjoying what he was doing.

The song finally finished and Hip finished on one knee, pulling his hood over his head. The cheering and clapping was better than any tip he could ask for. People were pleased with his performance. He stood, knocking his hood back, and made his way to the bar for a towel. He took his seat once more, and with the towel draped over his shoulders, he knocked back another monster energy drink.

"Isn't it a bit ironic to be a monster drinking monster?" asked Frisk from behind him.

"Eh, I like the taste. Wha' people think is of little meanin'." He rumbled.

The way he cut his words was funny, but his voice was much deeper than she had expected. She put her friend's drink up on the bar. She hadn't meant to, but ended up finishing it and she could feel a bit lighter. A fire monster who looked a bit like Grillby came up and took the glass.

"You'r' purdy." She slurred. Eyes lazily watching the blue-green tips of his hair flicker and pop with the music and distortion in the air from the music.

A voice on her other side made her glance to the side quickly, surprised. "He's spoken for, darlin', and I think you're friend spiked your drink." Sugar Plum looked a smidge worried to her fuzzed eyes.

"No, I think we just mixed our drinks up is all." Frisk managed to articulate out.

"Okay, if you say so hun." The blue and purple dancer said. He grabbed up the amber shot that the bartender set in front of him, downed it, and made his way back into the crowd.

Looking around, Frisk noticed a face she recognized. Gaster was sitting at a booth just off the bar by himself. She stumbled over and sat down. "Hi Gaster, when'd you get here?" she slurred.

His eyes widened at seeing her in such a state. "Um, I came through shortly after you and Frysk left. I never imagined she was serious when she said she was bringing you here. Are you okay dear?" he was speaking and his hands kept flying around, creating wing dings as he spoke. It was too much for her.

"I'm fine G, just need to rest a bit. I didn't mean to get alcohol or drunk." Frisk felt one of his hands on the back of her head.

"I'll watch over you. Take all the time you need. I'm just here to meet someone later tonight." The light timbre of his voice kept her calm and she fell into a half doze, even with the heavy, loud music pounding around her.


	5. Lonely Nightmare

Lonely Nightmare

(Unknown years prior to the present)

In a universe that was all light colors and smiles, everything was very different. This was an underground out of a fantasy book. The monsters had come together and built a huge castle. The Sans of this verse, Mi'lord, had a twin brother, Jester, and his younger taller brother, Sir Knight. King Asgore Dreamur and his gorgeous Queen Toriel ruled justly and fairly. Lies were never told and somehow, everyone was always happy. The king would often go down into the other parts of the kingdom to visit with his subjects, learning each of their names, personalities, and families. They were never bothered by the fact that they were trapped underground because they were happy with those who were around them.

When the first child fell, monsters were infatuated with her. The entire population adopted and helped care for her and made her feel welcome. She became like a princess and quickly was taken in by the King and Queen, and their son, Asriel. She never had a care or worry in the world.

One day however, shortly after the child was taken in by the royals, she asked if she could see Jester perform. She had heard fantasy stories when she lived above, and colorful jesters had always been a source of amazement for her, but when she looked upon him, she quickly hid her face in Queen Toriel's dress, crying in fear.

Jester, while being Mi'lord's twin, looked nothing like his regal brother. Mi'lord was a pearly white skeleton of short stature, and often wore pale blue robes or tunics. He always had a pale silver worked gold circlet upon his head, marking him as one who held significant status among the royals. He was charismatic and beautiful.

Jester on the other hand, had bones that were blacker than a shadow on a moonless night. His eyelights were mismatched, the right one was a floating white iris without sheen. It looked dead for all that it moved and acted like a normal eye. The left was an iris of neon blue, and contrasted harshly against his bones. When he grinned, his teeth where stark white, the only part of him that matched his brother and seemed untainted. He was not pretty to look at. In fact, many shuddered to just be within his presence, through no fault of his own. It was only his relation to Mi'lord that afforded him a place within the castle at all. His relation, and the King's great pity.

The child's fear, while not unexpected, still hurt Jester, but when bid by the queen to make his departure, he didn't let any see his sorrow and merely bowed and left quietly. Jester watched her from afar, hoping one day she may come to not fear him and possibly even befriend him as none below ground ever could, but it was not to be.

As the child grew to be a young woman, she began to want a life more realistic. She remembered where she came from, never having forgotten, and wanted to go back. She feared asking her adoptive family. She didn't want to hurt their feelings after they had cared for her so well and treated her so wonderfully. In the end, she came across Jester, who longing for any interaction with anyone, was more than pleased to show her the way to the barrier and the exit. In this world, it wasn't guarded, but it was a small distance from any inhabited part of the underground.

Once there, Jester explained about the barrier and how it kept them all underground. He also explained how it could be broken or weakened. He had sneaked peaks at the royal scientist's work many times, and had taught himself how to understand it all. If Dr. Gaster had written it, Jester had read it. Once he finished explaining, he asked if she was still sure she wanted to leave. It was a one-way path after all. After looking over her shoulder, she squared her shoulders and said she did. Then Jester asked one more question, one he didn't think would be asking much of the girl at all. Would she mind using the strength of her soul to help weaken the barrier? It wouldn't hurt or hinder her at all, but if she wanted to, she could put her will of freeing the monsters into the barrier using the resonance of her soul.

That was when things took a turn for the worse. Jester had made it clear he wanted out so he could find a friend. Upon asking for assistance on getting out, the woman, no longer a child, shot him down with a look of disgust on her face, saying that nobody would ever want to be close to someone like him. A hideous monster, she called him. She never called any of the others monsters, they were people. He was an abomination, a monster, unlikeable and unlovable.

In a fit of anger at the unfairness that had been dealt him, Jester used his magic, which until this point had lain dormant, and implanted a vision of pure terror and anguish in the woman. She collapse on the spot, only seeing the vison that played in her mind. Jester dragged her limp body back to the castle, somehow sure the King would appreciate that he had foiled the attempted escape of the girl and the chance of release she represented.

When the king saw the state the woman was in though. He had only concern for her and disappointment and anger for Jester. He demanded that the vision be removed and to make up for the treatment she had been given, threw a grand banquet to honor the memories that had been made since she first fell. Everyone was sad to see her go, but none stopped her and the Royals actually escorted her to the barrier and let her go without even asking for her to weaken the barrier. A complete waste of a human soul!

Jester was angry, but bided his time. One soul wasn't enough to break the barrier anyway, so what did it matter. Years passed and the monsters never lost their joviality. Jester eventually calmed down and resumed his role of the jester who never appeared and all was as it used to be. Another child fell, a boy, and the process repeated.

This time though, instead of taking him to the barrier when he expressed his wish to leave to him, Jester immediately reported him to the King thinking that maybe it was his treatment of the last that had caused the king to go easy on her. He tried to explain the science and reason behind why the souls of humans were important to bringing down the barrier to the King and Queen both, but he was brushed aside. What would a jest-less jester know of such things anyway? Leave the thinking to the Royal Scientist was the response he received. Once again the child was released a man who grew up in a fantasy realm and everyone eventually slid back into their roles without the human.

When the third human fell though, things changed drastically. This time it was a girl again. Everything was following the routes of the first fallen child. Jester took her out to the barrier and explained things to her even. The rebuttal was even worse than the first though. She told him, "If humans wanted the monsters to return, they would have broken the barrier by now. It's the existence of monsters like you that keep you down here." At first, Jester was horrified. It was his fault that no human wanted the barrier broken? But then he grew angry, how was it fair that _he_ be the one judged. This time he didn't just scare the woman. For her words, actions, and disregard to how he felt, he slew her before he knew what was happening.

With her now broken and lifeless body laying at his feet, and her soul in his palm, he felt a flicker of hope. Maybe, just maybe this one soul would weaken the barrier temporarily enough to let him pass. He applied the soul and immediately felt the difference in the air and the barrier. He reached out and put his hand to the barrier, to try and push through, only to be thrown back against a tree. The impact knocked him unconscious for some time.

When he came to, he could hear voices coming up the path and looking around, there was no way to mask the horror that had been committed. Jester did the only thing he could think of doing. He ran. Deep into the woods that had somehow flourished around the habited areas. Deeper than he thought anybody would ever go. The soul hadn't worked and now he was a murderer of a woman the entire world loved. He would never be accepted back now. And so, Jester disappeared from civilization.

The King and Queen, who had been coming up the road with a few Dogi royal guards found the body. The guards confirmed the last scents in the area were from Jester, but the King told them to let him go. Knowing his sin was punishment enough. They buried her in the royal gardens that were open to the public so everyone could visit her grave whenever they felt they were ready or wanted to talk to her. For a long time, everyone grieved, but like things always did, everything eventually went back to normal.

Almost everything that is. Deep in the woods, once he had calmed down, the once known jester began to realize just how much he was to be punished for his sin. How he hadn't noticed earlier, he didn't know, but the barrier must have worked some magic against him for his work against the soul that had weakened it. He now had four new appendages. They weren't arms, like what Spymaster had, or legs that would make him more like a bug monster. No, they were something that didn't compliment his structure at all, making him even more terrifying than before. Out of his lower lumbar vertebrae now grew four pairs of what could only be described as tentacles. Their color matched that of his bones, and they were slick, as if covered in a mucus of sorts so they felt almost wet to the touch. He could control them much like he did his arms, individually or together, to move however he wished. They could grow to wrap him as if in a cocoon, or shrink so they were the same length as his own height. He couldn't get them to shrink any smaller than that. They couldn't be hidden.

As time passed, he got more used to the new parts of himself until it was like second nature to depend on them like he did the arms and legs he was born with. Learning to live in the woods was a much harder feat, but he got lucky and found a grove of long forgotten fruit trees, likely the remainder of when they had first been locked down in this hole. He found a ruin nearby as well, and that became his home. Living by himself with only the trees to talk to, he grew content. They didn't judge him, and he didn't judge them. Some were pretty, some were not, but he kept them all and took care of them whether they needed it or not. Things would be this way for a long time.

Years passed, humans came, grew, and went. Very few left some soul to break the barrier. They now only needed four more souls to join their cause, but the monsters were in no rush, and honestly didn't think about it much at all. The more they heard about the surface, the less they wanted to go there. It was saturated with lies and false pretenses. Here, they were happy, and true to themselves. There was no need to go to the surface.

One day, while Asgore was on one of his walks through the woods on his own, he found himself in a part of the forest he didn't recognize. After walking these woods for centuries, he thought he knew them by heart, but there was a minute chance he had not seen them all, he supposed. A grove of well-tended fruit trees heavy with harvest, and a small stone and wood hut out in the woods. It was quaint, curious and cute. What disturbed him though, was the area beyond the hut was dark. Plants withered in varying states of dying or just out-right dead. No Froggits sounded in this part of the wood, no Tsudereplanes could be heard overhead. Listening, the king realized there were no sounds at all.

"Someone's far from the castle" came a voice behind him. A voice that dripped oily and made his teeth grind. It caused chills to go down his spine and the fur on the nape of his neck to stand up. It wasn't evil, but it wasn't good. It was just terrifying.

"Jester? Is this where you live now? What is happening here?" at first the King couldn't believe that the horrifying brother of Mi'lord had disappeared from his thoughts for so long. The voice brought everything back though. "And why, why did you do it?" he whispered.

"Jester? Haven't heard that name in a while." Mused the cool, quiet voice. He said nothing more, apparently not feeling he needed to say anything, or just too lost in recollection of how times were when he went by that name. Now he needed no name, so had none.

"Why did you kill Morgiana?" Pressed the king.

"Hmm, the girl? She scorned me, just like the rest of you all did. She had the ability to help set us free and chose to not use it after all we did for her, so I took her power from her and used it myself. Payed for it too, but I don't really mind that so much now." He mused.

Asgore could almost visualize him shrugging. "But why do you want the surface so badly. Is down here so terrible?" the king cried, trying to understand why someone would stoop to murder to get what they want.

"It wasn't the surface I wanted, Dreamur, it was acceptance. Nobody down here can accept me, so I wanted to try my luck up there. She made it clear what a pipedream that was though. Heh." He laughed at his own pun, making the king flinch at the wet, choking sound. It was nothing like a laugh, more like a last attempt to breathe through a liquid filled airway.

"I can understand why you'd want to go to the surface Jester, but why did she have to die?" He just couldn't drop it.

"She had to die for her arrogance. She believed she was so much better than us just because she was able to leave. She deserved it!" snarled the black skeleton. He swung from his branch behind the king through the branches of those around him until he was directly in front of him and then dropped to the ground. Where his feet and the hand he'd landed on touched the ground, the grass withered and died as he straightened and stood to face the king, meeting his eyes and daring him to look away from what he had become. The higher set of his tentacles arced slightly over his shoulders while the lower set reached around his hips under his elbows and just rested, suspended. It was like having his arms hang down for them to set like this, comfortable and natural. His arms were crossed in front of his chest, mismatched eyes watching the king's face as he took in the changes.

Finally he spoke. "Looks like you found your true self." He sounded almost sorry. "You are truly a nightmare, not something one wants to see in a dream." Asgore sighed as he slowly looked away.

"Nightmare, that's fitting, but anyway, that's why I stay out here. Why go where you're not wanted I figure. You live by the same rule. You don't press for the surface because the humans honestly don't want you there, so you hide down here. I'm not wanted in either place, so I stay where nobody will look for me or see me." Responded the dark skeleton, newly named Nightmare.

"But you can be found. I found you. That's why this must be done. For the good of all." The king scarcely more than muttered.

Nightmare realized too late what the king was going to do. Even as he realized, he opened a small jump gate, planning on jumping to another part of the woods just to escape, but part way through the king's attack hit. When he opened his eyes, Nightmare saw nothing. He neither, heard, smelled, felt, or even tasted anything in the air. He was nowhere. This was his nightmare. To be where nothing could reach him and he could reach no one. There was no acceptance, nor distaste. This was void. There was nothing. He tried opening portals, but couldn't tell if they worked. His portals only took him to another part of the world he was in, but he was no longer in a world, so was he even doing anything.

He didn't know how long he floated before he started hearing voices. He could hear his brothers, the queen, the king, all of them, but they never quite sounded right. Sometimes they would be saying things, or talking in ways that as he knew them, they never would. One time he heard the queen crying. She was lamenting the death of a child, saying the king had killed another child and why couldn't he stop? When he tried to listen closer, the voice faded away entirely.

One day however, a blinding slash of light broke through the nothing, searing Nightmare's eyes. When his eyes finally did adjust, he couldn't believe what he saw. Now not only one cut of light in his void, but many. Too many to count. And each slash of light cut an opening in a globe of swirling color. Had he been surrounded by this the whole time? Willing himself toward a pale blue sphere, he hesitantly wiped a palm over its surprisingly hard surface, and like sweeping away clouds, he saw the landscape of Dreamtale. His home was under his palm, a globe of light barely larger than his ribcage in a giant void surrounded by other globes. Willing himself toward another, he wiped it the same as he had for his, and found a world full of dust. He saw a strange looking skeleton that vaguely resembled his smaller brother, but his head was broken in. He crept closer to a crying girl who sat in the snow, probably cold, and then raised a hatchet. Nightmare's eyes went wide as the weapon fell in a spray of red. The skeleton looked highly amused but Nightmare felt sick. He would have to be careful about these globes it seemed.


	6. Blasted Anew

Blasted Anew

Alchemytale – Sans (Blaster), Undyne (Daederath)

Dreamtale – Sans (Nightmare)

"Let's see, add some of this, oh, and a sprinkiling of that! And one more drop of…" Squinting as he watched the droplet of liquid on the end of the pipet suspended over the beaker that he had been working with, Blaster unconsciously stuck his tongue between his teeth and held his breath. The bead grew incrementally until it could no longer hold its own against gravity and fell into the beaker totally anticlimactically. "Welp, that's that. Now all it needs is the construct and a bit of magic and we should see why only a skull appears and my magic can't bring you fully into this world." Walking past a giant Gaster Blaster that he had anchored in the workshop and deactivated, he knocked a knuckle against it, making it release a hollow sound. Blaster walked back and forth a few more times trying to steady his nerves so that his magic would be completely stable during this experiment. If one thing was off, it could cause another blast that would leave him blackened and against a wall, again.

He was the laughing stock of the town due to the fact that everything he tried to test, create, or modify through chemical, physical, or magic means ended up blowing up in his face. That was actually how he had gotten his name. Everyone else managed to create something that either benefited them, or their neighbor, or the entire underground. But he couldn't, he was good at nothing.

Taking one more deep breath, he spread his hands flat over the air in a soothing motion and looked up with a smile. "I can do this!" he said with enthusiasm and walked over to the beaker with the even stride of someone confident. Taking it to the counter on the other side of his workshop where he kept his stock of pipets, he set it down and selected a larger one and took up all the faintly luminous, clear material, more a thin gel then a liquid, and walked in front of the giant skull on the gurney. Facing it, looking up into its great sockets, he nodded and summoned his magic in his right hand, holding the pipet in his left. Slowly, with an air of ceremony, he lowered his arms and applied the magic and gel at the same time and spot on the skull.

And waited for a reaction.

There should have been a reaction.

Did he miscalculate something?

Why was nothing happening?

He must have done something incorrectly.

Turning his back on the project, convinced he had failed again, but grateful to have escaped an explosion, he went to start cleaning up. A step and a half later he was flying towards the wall rather than walking and an earth-shattering BOOM emanated out beyond his little lab, all the way into the depths of the woods, likely disrupting some other researcher's work that was much more productive than his own. Slamming into the wall face first when you're made of bone is exceptionally painful, and he fights the darkness that encroaches on the edges of his vision. He will not pass out this time! Something flickers in the darkness. Mentally jumping to look for it, he falls headlong into unconsciousness, cursing himself with his last aware thoughts for ten kinds of fool.

Surrounded by the darkness, he's surprised when he finds he can see a mammoth sized monster curled up to his left. Looking around, there are actually seven of them all around and all about the same size. One has its head raised and a small scorch mark on its' nose. It snorts and looks pointedly at him. He realizes this must be the one he had summoned to work on. He hadn't even considered that the bodies connected to the heads might be just as conscious and aware as he himself was.

Uncurling, it stood and walked over to him, where it laid back down and looked at him with one eye. If he spread one hand completely he would only almost be able to touch any edge of the eye socket with a fingertip if his palm were situated in the center.

Clearing his voice, he abashedly looked at his feet, and wondered that he had no shoes on. Must have lost them in the blast a part of his mind muses. "I'm sorry about blasting your nose like that. I guess I messed up again." He would have continued but the monster moved its head closer, distracting him and nudged at his hand.

He was very expressive with them when he talked, and when nervous like he was, he had been alternating between wringing them and pin-wheeling them in the air. Looking at his hand, all long metacarpals and small dull bits of bone that made up his phalanges, he looked then to the monster. After looking back and forth several times, he reached his hand out and laid it on a ridge of their face.

In a flash of light, he saw things through their eyes. There he was, a small, unsure, and scared child who had allowed them to see some of the world beyond this small cavern-like void space that was attached to his world. Occasionally the others would visit from their part of the cavern, never all of them at once as they didn't want to leave their own summoner's side unprotected for too long. They came from the other worlds, and if their rumors were to be believed, then the worlds were finally starting to interact, but with interaction their existence may fail or rise. They prayed that the need to summon them for fighting would not arise, but that would mean the end of their existence.

All these thoughts ran through Blaster's mind, projected to him from the monster he held contact with. These creatures were much more intelligent than he had ever given them credit for. They weren't weapons, but fellow creatures that were trapped. Looking around, he saw the other six had stirred and moved closer. They now lay in a circle surrounding him, nose to tail. He was able to _feel_ their amusement at his wonder and sense of injustice at their lot. They were content. He also felt his scientific side wondering at their size and bone structures and behaviors. They looked sort of like the anatomy books pictured out dogs to look like, but acted more like cats. Their skulls were more like a horse's skull, or a dragon's perhaps. He had hidden somewhere a book on skeletal fantasy creatures. Reading fiction was not looked upon highly. Daydreaming wouldn't break the barrier any sooner and never helped anyone anyhow. Fiction was just daydreams written on paper, wasting space for more useful scribbles and equations.

They seemed to like his comparison of them to dragons, dogs, and cats though, as they all started to hum in a way that was not all that different from a purr. Sitting down with his back to the one that had originally approached him, he ran a hand along their tibia and closed his eyes. The vibrations from their humming slowly putting him to sleep.

There was a roar and he startled awake, snapping his head up and trying to sit up all at once, failing as he lay prone on the floor of his laboratory with bits of stonework laying around him. Blinking a few times to try and clear his gaze of the dust that filled the air, he gave a cough and tried to push himself up. A sharp, pulling, stinging pain that seemed to come from beyond where he knew his toes to be, but he had nothing beyond his toes. Twisting speculatively, he looked over his hip and was horrified to find a long string of vertebral bones flowing out from under his lab coat and ending under a slab of heavy white stone. He tried pulling away again and as he felt the pain, he could also see the line of bones grow taunt and strain from under the slab. 'How had he managed to grow such an amount of new bones?' Was his only thought.

"Relax, before you hurt yourself." Grumbled a voice he didn't recognize and instantly had him cringing. Dripping and slimy, if words could be described with such terms, was what he would say it sounded like. It was a voice that made him want to get away without any reason. Fighting the instinct to try to flee and listening to reason as he had been taught though, he knew he could get nowhere with the string of bones that were now attached to him stuck under the slab, so he listened to it instead and forced himself to relax and wait.

He carefully looked himself over instead and was quite surprised to find even more changes had taken place. His hands, once similar to human ones, were now no longer connected at the base knuckle and much longer and sharper. Shifting back, he turned and sat up and found his feet to be in a similar situation. From the tugging earlier, he knew that the string of bones were directly connected to his spine, so likely a tail formation that had altered his original tailbone. Slipping out of his lab coat, carful to not pull on his new tail anymore, he checked his body for any other possible changes and was relieved to find none.

That done, he looked around, trying to find the source of the voice that he had heard earlier. He saw nobody at the moment, but a solid thump felt through the ground told him that the stranger was likely moving the larger debris out so that he could help whoever was trapped inside. It was likely to scare whoever was helping him, but Blaster figured it was easier to ask forgiveness than permission in this circumstance and attempted to summon one of his Gaster Blasters, planning to just pulverize the larger rocks so that they'd be easier to move and hopefully allow him to get out from under the one. When he felt no rush of magic though, he had a moment of terror, believing himself to have somehow robbed himself of his magic. That terror was quickly taken over by another wave of fear as a heavy beam of black energy with bright blue streaks roared through his shop, breaking large stones to rubble easily. It was not so different that what he had planned to do, but seeing another do it was completely different than doing it himself. Besides that, he didn't know of anybody else that was capable of summoning a blaster like his and building machines of destruction was strictly forbidden so that mortality rates could be kept manageable. The beam stopped just short of him, pulverizing the piece of ceiling that had obscured his view to the door.

The light cast from outside left the figure as a silhouette, but not a recognizable one. At first he thought it may have been a few monsters since none had the shape this one did, but when it moved, it was obvious it was only one. Stepping inside, the figure walked toward Blaster. "You okay dude?" They asked.

Blaster shivered involuntarily and forced himself to swallow. He couldn't understand why this figure was messing with him so much. He could handle talking to the head inventor and husband of the great machine, Papyrus, without stuttering, so why was he getting all gummed up with this stranger? Forcing himself to swallow once more, he managed to say, "I seem to be a bit stuck." And gestured to his tail.

The stranger's head turned to follow his gesture and went still. "You look different from before you blew this place to bits." Under the initial sound of the stranger's voice, Blaster thought he heard surprise and guarded concern.

Taking a breath and smiling sheepishly, though still unreasonably scared by the stranger, he nodded. "Yeah, I'm not sure where I went wrong in my calculations, but it must have really messed with my magic to do this. I've never even heard of body transmogrify like this." He held up his hand, turning it this way and that, still a bit awed and worried about the change. It would certainly make finer motor control harder. The dull phalanges he'd had before had worked just fine.

"Whoa there, big word for a little guy." The stranger made a noise like he was drowning. Blaster looked at him worried and unsure until he realized that he was laughing.

Moving over to the stone that kept his tail trapped, the dark figure looked over to him. This close, Blaster could make out his eyes and was slightly unnerved to find them two different colors. He was also able to discern that the other was a shorter skeleton like himself, but black, and had tentacles, an odd sight as he had never heard of skeletons having those particular kinds of appendages.

"I'm not pretty, I know, but once you're done staring, I'm gonna lift this so pull that out quick." He nodded at Blaster's tail.

"Uh, right. Sorry." Blaster quickly looked away, but then immediately looked back so he would know when the right time to pull his tail away was. The longer he talked to this strange skeleton, the easier it became he found.

The stranger was now looking at him, but in the darkness, he couldn't read his expression. After a few seconds he thought out loud, "You're a strange one, aren't you?"

"Uh…" was all Blaster could articulate immediately. Seriously, who was this guy to ask that?

They gave a snarl-like sound that made him jump and turned to the rock. "I'm going to lift this now." They said. Blaster watched as the tentacles on their back grew and reached around to wrap the large stone, then lifted it with seemingly little effort. "Do you want this outside with the other larger pieces?" They asked.

"Uh, sure. That will work. Thank you." Blaster couldn't believe they lifted it so easily. He watched as they lifted it until it was right above their head as they walked for the door. When they got there, they lowered it to fit through before them and followed it out. Then he checked out his new tail. The bones became smaller towards the end and the tip of it was a larger plate like bone a bit longer than his hand that was shaped like some sort of spade or arrow. The two back points went back along the last three vertebrae almost like a protection to keep from being severed. Carefully he rubbed along the tail, lifting it and running it through his hand. It was heavy, but he could feel the strength in it. He pushed himself to his feet and stood uncertainly for a second, the tail whipping around as he tried to find his balance before he fell to his hands and knees once more. With his feet shaped differently and the heavy tail at his back, his center of gravity seemed to be off as well.

He felt a thump through the ground again, signifying that the large slab had been put down outside and seconds later the stranger was back. "You able to walk?" They asked.

Again, the fear was back, but not nearly as bad this time. Blaster just shook his head.

"Would you like me to help you? I figure this house is yours seeing as you have this little lab set up connected to it." He gestured at the wall that was indeed built up against the house.

"If you wouldn't mind, that would be a great help." Grimaced Blaster as he tried once more to get just one foot under himself and his now elongated toes scraped on the concrete floor gratingly. "By the way, my name's Blaster." He looked up to the stranger expectantly.

They gave another snarl-like sound and made their way toward him, tentacles settling around them. When he made it over to Blaster, he leaned down, sort of awkwardly as if he'd never been this close to another or helped another stand. Between the two of them, they managed to get Blaster on his feet, tail swiping in wide arcs to try and find his balance. "I'm Nightmare." The introduction was quiet and Blaster almost missed it, but didn't. They shuffled to a set of steps that connected the lab to the house via a door that was recessed up in the wall. Nightmare took one look at them and glanced at Blaster. "Do you mind if I use these to carry you? I don't have the strength in my arms to and I don't think you are making it up these."

"It probably would have been easier for us to do that from the beginning, but yeah, I'm fine with that." Laughed Blaster. He was curious as to the texture of the un-skeleton-like appendages and how they moved. Getting handled by them would definitely give him some insight on the matter.

Nodding, Nightmare turned and wrapped his lower set behind Blaster's knees and back, allowing him to fall into a sort of bridal carry and used his own arms to better support the skeleton and keep his tail out from under his feet. Using another tentacle, he opened the door and let them into the house. Inside there was a mat and an area for shoes, Nightmare removed his own, but didn't have to worry about Blaster, he wasn't wearing any since the transformation. Blaster guided him to a living area and Nightmare deposited him carefully on a couch.

When the tentacles left him, Blaster was unsure of how to feel. They had felt a bit damp, but had been warm and fleshy. They were definitely comfy and very mobile. Looking over to Nightmare, who seemed at a loss as for what to do now, Blaster smiled. He knew he wasn't going to be walking well any time soon and if the other wasn't against the idea maybe he'd stick around and help him out until he could relearn the basics.

"Why don't you turn on a light and we can talk. I'd like to know more about the one who saved my tail." Blaster knew the joke was in poor taste, but anything to lighten a mood when the other seemed so tense.

"A-are you sure you want to do that?" Nightmare asked, sounding a bit worried.

Blaster was starting to feel confident in identifying feelings in his voice. "Yep, I want to see who saved me as well. I can't very well go around saying I was saved by a shadow, now can I? Nobody would believe me! It's just illogical." Blaster joked.

"Hmm, logic does seem to be this universes axis I suppose." Mumbled Nightmare as he moved toward the light switch. He hesitated, then forced himself to flick it on, waiting for the harsh catch of breath, but it never came. He looked carefully over his left shoulder and saw the other studying him with a critical eye. "What?" he asked self-consciously.

"It's just that I've never heard of a skeleton having flesh limbs before and the way they branch out from your spine is quite intriguing." Blaster's eyes jumped up to meet Nightmare's astonished blue one. "Would you mind letting me see it closer?" He asked hopefully.

"You mean you're not afraid of me? You aren't disgusted or anything?" Nightmare couldn't believe it. It was just too good to be true.

"I won't lie and say I'm not afraid of you. The moment I heard your voice I was struck with an unreasonable fright. Once I realized there was no reason to be afraid though, it got easier to force down. I'm getting used to it. My guess is you likely have some sort of faint miasma that induces fear in others. Likely some sort of defense mechanism." Thought Blaster aloud.

"Huh, never thought of it as a defense. I just knew that people didn't like me. I figured it was because I'm so ugly." Deprecated Nightmare.

"Nonsense, you are highly anatomically interesting, and I'm willing to bet that in your soul, you're interesting too." Blaster was quick to reassure him. He wasn't lying, but he also wanted Nightmare calm and relaxed so he'd let him look closer at the connection points and get a closer look at how he was built as well.

Surprised once more by the forwardness of the other, Nightmare finds himself relaxing more than he recalls ever being while in the presence of another. "Well, I guess if you really want to see them." He acquiesces. Carefully, so as not to rip the fabric, he pulls off his sweatshirt that he wearing and pulls down the t-shirt underneath that hiked up in the process. He had cut slices in the back of it a while back so that he was able to move freely and Blaster would be able to move them around with ease if he wanted to truly get a close look.

As Nightmare glanced around for a place to set his black pullover, Blaster smiled to himself. One of the few things he was good at was getting others to feel comfortable around him. It was a useful trait at times, other times it was a pain though. "You can put it on the recliner." He nodded to a brown leather beat up recliner just off the corner of the couch.

"Thanks." After folding it in a neat square. He stood awkwardly again. "Uh, so, where do you want me?" He kept his eyes cast down.

If he were able to walk, Blaster would have walked up to him and lifted his chin, just to look in his eyes. The duality of them was mesmerizing as it was freaky from the colors. Since he wasn't, he just patted the spot next to him. "Sit here, facing that way" He pointed away from him, toward a kitchenette, "and try to relax. You have nothing to worry about." When Nightmare complied, folding a leg under him as he sat and letting the other hang off the edge of the couch, Blaster was practically buzzing with anticipation and fear.

Hesitantly, he reached out a hand toward the lower lumbar vertebrae and the base of where the tentacles no doubt grew from under the dark navy shirt. Even as he was watching the other though, he saw his own hand in enter his vision and instantly took a breath, remembering that his hands were different than before. He didn't want to scare this stranger by being so forward as to touch him when he wasn't comfortable, but also didn't want to hurt him on the sharp tips and edges of his new hands.

Hearing the gasp from behind him, Nightmare could only assume that the other had finally realized just what he had been about to touch. Having never completely relaxed his bones, he tensed even more, his scapulae pulling closer together in expectation of the old dismissal he always heard back in his world.

"I'm sorry. I can't do this right now. I don't want to chance hurting you." Choked Blaster behind him.

Hearing sounds of sniffling and scraping bone behind him along with that last statement, Nightmare's eyes widened. He carefully turned, still expecting at some point for the other to shout at him and send him packing. What he saw completely floored him. Blaster had the heel of where his palms used to be pushed up to his eye sockets trying to hide the flow of blue tears with gold flecks. Blaster was afraid _for_ him, not of him? Comfort was not something Nightmare had ever tried to give. He had never been put in a position where he would have to, so he just turned to face the other and watched, unsure, as Blaster slowly broke down in front of him.

"I'm a freak. How can I ever face anyone when I look like this? I'll never be let into the University now!" he continued to bawl.

Grimacing uncomfortably, Nightmare offered, "You honestly don't look that bad dude. At least you managed to keep to your own kind. You're still a skeleton all around. Besides, monsters all look a bit strange in their own ways." He snorted again (the snarling sound Blaster had heard twice before) at the irony that he was consoling another about cosmetic appearance considering his own disfigurement.

"What do you know about it?!" Shouted Blaster, dropping his hands. "Who are you to show up in _my_ lab and tell _me_ to not worry about this!" on the last word he spread his hands, indicating his entire body and the changes that had taken him.

"You're right, I'm nobody. I'm not even from this universe. I stepped from nowhere to here, just to help myself. But I do know about what you're going through. These limbs," Nightmare shrugged and flicked his hands to indicated the tentacles that had moved to wrap tightly around his chest and waist, "I wasn't born with these. I got these because I messed up. I realize now that I messed up and accept that. I accepted a long time ago that this is my lot and that I'll likely never gain acceptance because of how I look. So don't go bawling to me for sympathy 'cause you got a frickin' makeover when you added too much potassium to that damn concoction!" he snarled.

Blaster's eyes went wide. The anger in Nightmare had increased the potency of his miasma and the way it distorted his voice only made the vision in front of the scientific skeleton that much more terrified. Then he registered part of what Nightmare had said. "Wait, hold up just a second. It was the potassium that caused this? I was just putting the explosion down to perhaps a milligram too much, figuring I may have forgotten to even out the measure, but it's why I look like this now too? Being blown up never changed my appearance before. Might have broken bones, but never altered or added any." His eyes were looking at something Nightmare couldn't see, likely tracing the formula in the air as he tried to check his amounts by memory.

"I'm not sure why you're appearance changed, all I know is I saw the back of your house blow up when I passed your world and decided to check up on you. I had been watching you for the last few weeks and you seemed the most likely to accept something as wrong as me." Interrupted Nightmare. He didn't want the scientist getting the idea that the potassium alone had changed his structure. That was obviously magic, and not his own either. Some other monster must have somehow had contact with him between the time of the explosion and when Nightmare had gotten to him. He had been covered in void residue and blue magic residue. Both had both been fading fast when he had reached him, but he had seen them. It was only when Blaster had cried that Nightmare had realized that the blue magic had been Blaster's. "I think it was more a work of magic that changed your appearance than the chemicals. Did you find yourself anywhere between the time of the explosion and when I got to you? You had void residue on you and that is only found between worlds to my knowledge."

"Passed my world, watching me, void residue, what are you talking about? You aren't making any sense." Blaster gave the dark skeleton a wary and concerned took. "You're starting to sound like some sort of insane stalker. Not cool at all."

Nightmare had gone back to looking at his hands as he talked, as if the answers lay somewhere within the darkness of his bones, but upon the accusation of being a stalker, he quickly looked up, wide eyed. "I wasn't stalking! I was just trying to study the sciences of the different worlds. Everyone's at different points and in the worlds that have become interconnected the jumps in science are really confusing people, but this universe by far is the most advanced when it comes to anatomic development with the incorporation of magic, even if you all are a bit short-sighted." He quickly explained.

"Again with the worlds and universes!" Blaster threw up his hands, "Why don't you start from the beginning? You are running me in circles trying to understand anything of what you're saying. Start with where in the underground you're from, and maybe I'll be able to understand which field you're studying that has scrambled you so bad." He had been flailing his hands, pointing every which way and gestured for Nightmare to continue as he finished, just missing catching the other across the face.

Nightmare quickly lunged back to get out of range of the sharp digits as the irate skeleton brandished them around unthinkingly. He seemed to realize his mistake at the end of his tirade as he quickly pulled them back and forced them together in his lap after nearly scratching Nightmare. "Uh, right. Where I'm from. I haven't looked at that universe in a few years. This may take a while. You want anything before we start? I don't want to have to stop in the middle and end up missing something important."

Giving Nightmare a quizzical look, he suddenly remembered the vision he'd had after the explosion. The monsters whose heads he could summon had also mentioned something about alternate universes and crossing between them. Maybe this was the same thing. Had Nightmare somehow come here from one of the worlds that the monsters he had talked to been speaking of? Sighing, he gestured, carefully this time, over toward the kitchenette. "There should be a recorder on the counter in there. Grab that and some tapes from that rack on your way back."

With a determined look, Nightmare got up and went to grab the recorder. When he stopped by the rack of blank tapes next to the front door though, he almost dropped the device as heavy knocking sounded from the door.

"Yo, Blast, you in there? I heard the explosion all the way over in Waterfall and got a ride from the Riverperson to check on you. Can I come in?" an anxious voice called from outside.

Nightmare looked to Blaster, worried. "Let her in. Daederath is cool. She normally is the one who gets me out of trouble." Blaster smiled sheepishly and nodded encouragingly.

Nodding, Nightmare grabbed three tapes and moved to open the door in such a way that he could stay behind it and not be seen immediately. The door was pushed from the other side quickly, forcing him to jump back to avoid being run over by it. In strode a monster that had to be this universe's version of Undyne. Her red hair was hacked short and spiked, giving her a delinquent juvenile look. The brown leather duster and black leather pants did nothing to detract from the look either, but her posture and stride marked her as a proud professional. Every other step echoed strangely off the wooden floor and Nightmare quickly noticed the metal prosthetic leg that seamlessly connected somewhere within the pants. He could see no marks of where the joining would be and the pants were form fit.

She stopped once she got past the door, staring aghast at Blaster. All she could see was his head over the back of the couch, but that was enough.

He hadn't checked a mirror yet, but the look in her face was enough to tell him that his skull hadn't escaped the transformative effects of the blast any more than the rest of him. Blaster looked at Nightmare, eyes wide.

Nightmare quietly closed the door behind their latest visitor, and kept his gaze averted. He was just waiting for the inevitable reaction to the miasma Blaster said he put off. He didn't have to wait long.

Daederath paled. Then took a deep shaking breath. "What. The. Fuck?" the last word she yelled as the fear got to her. She saw the changes in Blaster, her close friend, and felt an overwhelming fear wash over her. Logically, it was due to worry about his state of being, so she accepted it.

She didn't see Nightmare flinch behind her, thinking for sure she was talking about him even though she hadn't looked at him yet.

"Um, it's not as bad as you think Dae, I swear!" Blaster quickly tried to calm her. He had noticed Nightmare's flinch and realized that while he had become accustomed to the fear inducing miasma, she had just stepped right into it and right next to the one producing it. That was likely making her reaction to it even worse.

"What did you do? You know you were never good at pure alchemy and that's the only thing I know of that could work a change anywhere near this." Her golden eye remained wide and staring, too terrified to move.

"Is it really that bad?" He asked her, looking up through bone brows. "Hey, Nightmare, would you mind grabbing the little mirror on that table as well please?" his voice was shaking again. Daederath was known for having a strong mind. She had to be severely shaken to reach this point and he wasn't sure it was just the miasma.

Spinning quickly, her heavy black chunk-heeled boots nearly clipped Nightmare as he slipped past her, keeping his head down and bringing the items he had gathered over to his spot on the couch. Uncertainly, he offered the mirror, face down, to Blaster. "You honestly don't look that bad man." He tried to convince the other quietly enough that she wouldn't hear him.

"And who are you?! I've never seen you around here before!" She yelled, slipping into hysterics as she slowly lost control of her mind and slipped in her terror.

"Dae, calm down. Think, what's the atomic weight of Fluorine added to Helium?" yelled out Blaster as he realized just how bad she was being affected.

Taking a breath, she shot a glare at him. "Twenty-three point zero zero three numbskull. That wasn't even hard." She growled in her normal voice.

"Maybe not, but it got you thinking. Now, is my appearance, or the appearance of my guest worthy of the reactions you were exhibiting just now?" he raised a bone brow meaningfully and paused for a second. "I thought not. Now please, have a seat and I'll catch you up to speed. At least to where I am at this point." He nodded and gestured to the leather recliner at the same time.

She moved cautiously over to the chair and picked up the black hoodie, looking at it puzzled. Looking up at the two on the couch, she realized it must be the black skeleton's. Letting it fall open, and taking off her own coat, she went to drape them over the back of the chair when her hand met wet fabric. She dropped the hoodie quickly, more out of reaction than really meaning to, then moved to grab it again.

"Here, I'll take it." A voice she assumed to be the stranger's. Turning to offer it to him, she met his eyes and her one widened.

She reactively pulled it closer to her without thinking. "You're heterochromatic." She said with amazement. When he tilted his head slightly, she assumed he didn't know the term. She didn't know how he wouldn't, but anything is possible. "You're eyes, they're two different colors. They're beautiful." She breathed, forgetting Blaster's presence for a moment.

"I know what it means, but thank you." He looked down and away and she realized she was still clutching his jacket.

"Um, here. Sorry." She blushed red under her blue scales.

Blaster just kept looking between them disbelieving. He could see what was happening, but wasn't sure if he should do anything about it considering how little everyone knew about each other.

Nightmare reached over with one of his upper tentacles and relieved her of his jacket, quickly slipping it back on and maneuvering himself through all the holes. Half-way through, two of his tentacles got caught in one of holes near the bottom. He was quick to try to pull the wrong one out, but it was caught against the fabric. He tried turning, but just couldn't reach it. Having not really had taken the article off in a couple hundred years, he was out of practice to say the least.

Blaster quickly reached over, "Here, hold still a moment." And caught the hem of the hoodie as Nightmare pulled again.

This time he got it out and pushed it through the correct hole, letting the article of clothing settle properly. "That was much more complicated than I remember it being." He grumbled, blushing a blue that dusted his cheekbones like freshly powdered snow.

Blaster sniggered a little and Daederath blushed a bit deeper, and looked away to hide a smile. Nightmare just shrugged.

"So, how'd you blow up the lab this time?" Daederath asked, looking pointedly at Blaster and raising a thin red brow.

"Um, I was trying something out using magic and chemicals. It sort of you know, blew up." He looked down embarrassed, but looked back up quickly when he heard a choking, gagging sound from the other skeleton and felt the couch shift slightly. Nightmare was holding his abdomen and appeared to be laughing. Looking over to Dae, Blaster raised his brows in disbelief. Daederath, for her part, looked horrified and astonished at the display of mirth. "You okay, Night?" Blaster asked, unsure. He didn't think his pun was that good. He noticed faint sparks of blue appear and disappear around the sockets of Nightmare's eyes.

Catching his breath, Nightmare nodded. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. It's just been way too long since I've heard a pun and that was pulled amazingly. It's good to be back amongst others. The void just doesn't make up for a good audience." He grinned at his own joke, knowing the others wouldn't get it.

"Void? What's that?" asked Daederath.

"Well, that's what Nightmare was about to start telling me about when you knocked. You made it just in time for a new history lesson. That's why I was having him grab the recorder and cassettes." Blaster waved a hand, indicating the tapes that lay strewn over the couch.

It was then that he remembered the mirror. He reached forward and grabbed it, hesitating before he turned it over. He could see now why Daederath had reacted like she had. All his teeth were now pointed, and he had two spikes extending back past the back of his skull. He carefully ran his hand over one then the other, feeling the different contours of his skull. It reminded him a bit of the blasters he could summon. Looking over himself quickly, he realized that a lot of his features were similar to that of his blasters' bodies had been in the vision he'd had. He filed that away to bring up later. He wanted to hear Nightmare's story and the explanation of these other worlds and universes.

Daederath gave him a worried look, but he waved her off and settled more comfortably into the corner of the couch. "Whenever you're ready Nightmare. The whole story, right from the very beginning. Where you started up to now. Leave out nothing. When it comes to documenting history and taking facts and notes, leaving something out can cause mistakes down the road. We won't interrupt and we'll save any questions until the end. Okay?" he smiled and nodded encouragingly, finding answers was one of his hobbies after all.

And so, Nightmare recounted his tale, from the beginning, back before the barrier in Dreamtale right on through until the present, and where he sat now. It had taken several hours, more tapes than either of his audience members had expected. They had ended up taking a break just to order food from the local bar and Dae had gone to get it, once she realized that her friend couldn't walk and Nightmare's miasma would make for quite a bit of trouble in a packed establishment. Now that he had finished, he waited for any questions these two monsters from a science based world may have for him, but they still seemed to be taking in everything. So he let them and grabbed another slice of olive pizza.


	7. This is Not My Home

This is Not My Home

Echotale – Frysk (Frisk)

Undertale – Frisk

Dancetale – Hip (Sans)

UnderLust – Teal (Grillby) and Sugar Plum (Sans)

UnderFell – Spikes (Gaster)

Slipping off her stool, Frysk tore her gaze from the dancing spider monster in front of her and looked around the now heavily packed club. All the booths were packed, some with very explicit going-ons that were notorious here, some with groups of humans looking for a good time but too scared to leave the safety of numbers, some with monsters. The dancefloor was a mosh pit of humans and monsters of all kinds, some obviously not of this verse, but the majority definitely were. The scant amount of clothing was quite apparent and not everyone was just grinding out there on the floor. For once though, Frysk wasn't looking for fun on the floor, she was looking for her double.

"Hey chica, you look lost." Hip had slipped up beside her, his pullover tied around his waist and overlong white tee bright under the flashing lights.

"Hmmm, yeah. I came here with a friend and I wanted to check on her, but I don't know where she got to. She doesn't get out often." Frysk strained on her toes to look around, hoping to see a mop of brown hair in a bowl cut somewhere without luck.

"You came with someone? That's not your normal. Usually you're leaving with someone." He looked up, surprised.

"You trying to say something squirt?" she asked, glancing sidelong down at Hip with a half-grin.

"Now that's just low. Comments on a monster's height don't raise you any higher ya know. So who're you lookin' for?" He easily redirected, looking away from her and out to the packed floor. He'd had to cut his dance time short when the crowd had gotten too thick. He didn't want to end up kicking somebody 'cause they couldn't keep their distance.

"Another human girl, she looks sort of like me, but a little shorter and with shorter straight hair. Sugar Plum tried to pick her up the second she got in. Maybe he knows where she got to." She contemplated, looking around for the exotic skeleton. He had deserted his table and taken up dancing on the bar. If the green tips of Teal's hair were anything to go by, he certainly didn't mind the show coming closer. She sniggered and started making her way around the throng that took up the main area.

"Ey, kid, let me give you a hand there!" Hip tried to extend a hand, but was quickly cut off as another monster slipped between him and Frysk.

It was a very tall, very dangerous looking skeleton monster. Hip knew of one other skeleton monster that lived in his underground, his brother, but he didn't recognize this one and they obviously didn't come from UnderLust with how they were dressed. He pushed a few human who tried to step across his path out of his way and followed Frysk with purpose, a man in the group that had been pushed aside looked like he was about to say something, but thought better of it after one glance. This guy was obviously trouble.

Hip looked around nervously. He saw a few other monsters were eyeing the large monster as well. He wasn't the only one who had noticed the exceptionally high LOVE and EXP levels on him. Frysk had some, but this guy blew hers away easily. Noticing he had a bit of free space, he opened a small portal and sidestepped, popping in behind the bar next to Teal. "Hey, just a head's up. Trouble at the two, I'm splitting out the back." He reported, and slipped through another portal into the changing rooms then out the back door. He didn't want anything to do with monsters with those levels and Teal knew that while he was a judge, he was as pacifist a monster as there ever was. "Sorry Frysk, good luck." He whispered, then headed into the woods behind the bar, pulling on his sweatshirt and quickly disappearing.

Halfway to the bar, Frysk saw a flash of light behind the bar, then another. Shortly after, the crowd around her started parting and thinning considerably and she felt a strong presence at her back. She only knew a few monsters with levels this high. She quickly spun, cursing herself a fool for leaving her knife back in Frisk's universe, and started to drop into a crouch so she'd be ready if something struck her. Her stance was knocked apart when a hand caught under her jaw, pulling her up out of her crouch and forward on her toes.

Firm, heated, living bone pressed against her lips, and surprised, she gasped. A forceful tongue slipped into her mouth and sharp fangs bit harshly into her lip, drawing blood, making her whine a little. Her vision cleared with the bite though, and upon recognizing her assailant, she pushed an arm around his waist, forcing him closer to her so there was no room between the two of them. He drew back from the kiss, not releasing her face though and keeping her up on her toes painfully by the pressure points under her jaw.

"You would try to attack me? What an amusing idea." He growled in her ear, he long fangs just scraping the upper shell.

"Would you rather I cower in fear and cry for your mercy?" she gasped huskily against his skull. His other hand had gone around her back, the sharp tips of his fingers slipping under her shorts, the hole in his palm channeling a chill stream of air against her back.

He pulled back. "No, of course not. I abhor cowards and begging." The hand under Frysk's jaw fell away and the one around her back pulled away as well.

Tilting her head to the side, she grinned teasingly, "Oh, I know Spikes. I know. It's nice to see you anyway. What business do you have in this universe though? Surely not pleasure?" her hand twined in his as she restarted her journey to the bar, much easier with her unofficial man by her side now.

"No, I'm here on business. I'm supposed to be meeting another version of myself here. The one who originally helped make the gates a possibility, actually." Spikes informed her briskly, but not pulling away from her grip on his hand and following her to the bar.

"You're here to see Gaster? I mentioned I was coming to him and he didn't say anything about his coming. Are you sure he knows he's meeting you here? He does get forgetful you know, living in that soft universe of his." They finally arrived at the bar. "Hey Teal, Sugar Plum. Have either of you seen Frisk?" she asked looking between them.

Teal was the one who responded. "The only Frisk's we know are you and the one who broke our barrier. She's long gone. I don't think anybody really knows where she ended up after she got out of here." He looked over to Sugar Plum.

His brow was furrowed. "That girl who came in with you, that wouldn't be _another_ Frisk, would it?" asked Sugar Plum, sockets widening.

"Yeah, that's the one. She's from the Undertale universe. I wanted to check on her cause I haven't seen her since I left her to watch Hip's performance." She shot a glance around the place once more, finally noticing Gaster sitting in a booth at the end of the bar with a human that easily resembled her target. "Oh, there she is, never mind!"

Sugar Plum's gaze darkened. "She's drunk and said she got her drink from you." He told her, angry. Teal nodded, confirming his statement.

"Oooh, shit. She probably ended up with my drink. I thought somebody else had grabbed it. I didn't even think that I may have accidentally given it to her." Muttered Frysk as she realized what had to have happened.

Teal's brows went up. "That was a very strong drink. If she doesn't have much tolerance, she'll likely end up poisoned from it, seeing as she finished the whole thing. You do realize that, right?"

Frysk's eyes widened. "She's never drank a drop in her life, how'd she managed to finish it all! I usually split it with someone myself. Excuse me, I need to go check on her." Without waiting for a reply, she started pushing toward the booth, forgetting in the moment about Spikes, who quietly followed her, giving a menacing glare at anyone who looked sideways at the forceful girl ahead of him.

"Was it really that bad, Teal?" asked Sugar Plum worriedly.

"No, the girl with likely be hungover for the next few days though. Frysk needs a wakeup call though. She can't be bringing strangers here without explaining the rules and then leaving them unattended. If we hadn't been watching her, you know as well as I that she likely would have been raped to death within the first two hours of stepping in here. She does look a lot like our Frisk though, and that wouldn't have helped matters. There are quite a few who would love to get their hands on a girl like that." Teal shook his head angrily. He was getting frustrated himself just thinking about such things. He had been interested in their Frisk himself, but just as another toy. If the night kept going as it had been, he would likely end up having to take a break before long. Glancing to the side, he saw Sugar Plum was still staring at the two headed for the booth. "Try and get back to your table. The night's only half over. Three more hours and I'll start shutting down, okay?" Stuff like this always reminded them of life before the plague and drained them.

"Yeah, okay. I might be needing a break at some point though." Sugar Plum sighed, getting ready to push himself off the counter.

"I'll wave you down when I'm going for mine, okay?" Teal shot him a small smile with a hint of just what kind of break they could have if he wanted.

"Cool, see ya in a bit then." Sugar winked, then pushed off the bar with a bit more hop in his step, already feeling better knowing he had Teal rooting for him.

Gaster looked up when he felt the two strong forces approaching, laying a protective hand on Frisk's head, causing her to moan slightly. His eyes flicked to her momentarily concerned, then back to the crowd. He instantly recognized his alternate making their way towards his booth though, and started to relax minimally. The crowd finally parted, letting Frysk through, just ahead of Spikes.

"Oh my gawd! Is she okay? Tell me she's not dead. I swear I didn't mean for this G! Oh my gawd!" Frysk immediately started to break down when she saw that Frisk was unconscious on the table.

"She's not dead, just really intoxicated. I'm very cross with you though. You said you'd take care of her. You, more than most people, should know just how valuable our humans are to our universes Frysk. She'll be alright. Thankfully the barkeep kept an eye on her and pointed her over to me or she would have had a very bad time of it here." He turned to Spikes. "I'm sorry, but I think that I'll have to postpone this meeting. I want to get her home and safe as soon as possible. Please understand." He carefully held the other's gaze for a few seconds, before lowering his own. Spikes was just too intimidating.

Giving a heavy sigh, Spikes draped an arm over Frysk's shoulders and waved Gaster off. "Yeah, whatever. Go take care of your pet. From what my younger brother says, they're quite fragile." He turned and dragged a quite willing, if hurt and confused Frysk with him.

Sighing gratefully, Gaster moved around the table and picked up Frisk. She was well and truly out and hung limply in his arms. He had only ever seen Sans get this plastered, and he didn't do that too often. Looking around for an easy way out, he made eye contact with Teal, who waved him over. He carefully wove his way around people until he reached the bar. "I'm looking to get back to the portal with minimal trouble. I'm going to take her home for the night. Thank you for watching over her."

"Hey, no problem, come back anytime. You can use the back door. Just head straight back this hallway and last door at the end. Once you're outside, you're on your own though."

"That's fine, thank you." Gaster bowed his head quickly and went down the hall that Teal had gestured to. It was dim and the scent of sex was much stronger, but it was much quieter and easier to watch around him. Going through the door at the end of the hallway, he glanced around the room, and saw another door at the end of the room. He quickly made is way over to that, and out into the cool snowy air. It had started snowing again, just a light flurry, but still a bit brisk for the girl as she had no coat. Making his way around the back of the building and the one next to it, he came across a group of children all playing obscenely with each other. As soon as he saw them, they saw him and stopped, just staring. "Um, as you were." He stammered, trying to look elsewhere while keeping an eye in case they tried to approach him.

One of them suddenly stood and stepped closer, a small monster, but all the same, Gaster stepped back. "That's the girl I talked to earlier. Is she okay sir? Are you going to play with her like all the others play?" he asked, looking up at Gaster curiously.

Flushing violet, Gaster stumbled over his words, "No, that is, yes, er. She's drunk and I'm taking her back to her home so that she can rest and get better. I don't really play with others. I should be going. Do you know how to get to the skeleton brother's house from here." He was getting flustered trying to explain things to the child that he never would have even thought about talking about with children from his own universe.

"Oh, you're looking for the brothel? It's just over there." The monster kid pointed across the courtyard beyond the edge of the building. "You look cute in purple." They giggled.

"Right, thank you. I'll be going now then. Bye bye." He moved quickly around them and walked fast toward the house that vaguely resembled the one he was used to. The kid had called it a brothel. Definitely not where he would have put the portal had he known, but where was safe for monster transit in this world? Shaking his head, he walked down the side of the building and around back. The moans and screams of pleasure coming from the open windows, while intriguing, were also turning his stomach. To be so wanton, he could not fathom letting such sounds be heard from himself. Shaking his head, he stepped through the portal and into his own world, back to safety and familiarity. Gone was the scent of sex and back was crisp clear bright snow. This was home and he had a young girl to take care of, he thought as she moaned again and tried to shift in his arms.


	8. Mark-Vision

Mark-Vision

SMUT CHAPTER – YOU'VE BEEN NOTIFIED!

Summary: Anything that opens with tears will end with them … but will they be for the same reason they were spilled in the first place?

UnderLust Grillbys – Teal and Amethyst

Dancetale Sans - Hip

Normally navigating through Underlust alone would have given Hip a chilling feeling, regardless of the fact that he was trekking through the Snowdin Forest, just because not all monsters had the restraint that Teal showed in his club. Right now though, he felt more shaken than wary. The tall monster in black and red that had appeared in the club tonight was definitely not what he had expected to come across and the levels made him look over his shoulder every few paces. No one had followed him out as far as he knew and could see, and he was pretty deep in the woods by now, following the melted path that the two fire elementals had burned into the landscape with their frequent passing. After everything that had happened tonight, he wanted to see Amethyst and cuddle. His first day as an official dancer for the club had been just a tad too exciting in all the wrong ways. After another mile or so, a small single story stone cabin came into view. The purple flickering in the kitchen windows assured Hip that his boyfriend was indeed home and had him picking up his pace until he was almost running to get to the door and out of the open. Before he could get to the door though, it flew open and with a worried face, there stood Amethyst, who quickly stepped forward to catch him and wrap him in a hug, picking him up and carrying him inside, closing the door behind them.

Amethyst had been worried and distracted since he had stopped by his brother's establishment. Shortly after leaving, he had felt panic, though he hadn't had any reason to feel panic himself as the woods had been quiet and clear where he was walking at the time. The feeling, though it had shaken him, had passed fairly quickly but left him looking over his shoulder unsure of where the emotion had come from. The rest of the evening had been rather uneventful. Upon looking in Teal's room for the uniform that needed a run through the wash, he had been slightly annoyed to find the shirt pulled over the pillows as if it were a pillowcase, but the rest of the clothes had been tossed in the hamper in the corner, along with his extra uniform and night clothes. Amethyst gathered everything and ran it through the wash together with his own stuff after changing into a pair of cargo pants, it was due for washing anyway. He figured he would just fold and hang everything once it was done and then head for bed. Teal could grab it when he went in tomorrow. There was no reason he should need it tonight anyways. Just as he was heating some hot water for tea to knock him out, he felt a shot of fear and panic again. Then, a feeling he knew well, the feel of dangerous levels in close proximity. He could feel heavy vibrations against himself and saw a flash of black and red in a haze of bright lights, then he was back in his kitchen. He immediately realized what was going on. He was getting sensations from Hip, his marked mate who was obviously scared. He wanted to go to him and keep him safe, but he knew that Teal would never let anything happen in his club, and even if something did, there was no way that he'd be able to get there in time to stop anything, so he just waited in hopes that Hip would be alright. In those few seconds that he'd seen through his lover's eyes, he knew that Hip meant to seek him out, so he figured he'd wait for him instead of chancing missing him if he used one of his mysterious shortcuts. He was on edge for a good thirty minutes until he saw a figure moving through the woods and the feeling of anxiousness had only been growing since he had had the flash of sensation.

Quickly putting away the last of the dishes he'd been taking care of, he moved to get the door, only to catch Hip as he ran full into him, practically breaking at the seams with terror of the unknown. Hushing him gently, Amethyst carefully lifted him, whispering sweet nothings against his skull and stroking his back to try and soothe him, carrying him back inside the cabin and to his room. Once there, he sat on the end of the bed, Hip on his lap, sobbing tears of magic that ran down to soak his sweatshirt and clinging to his shoulders as if his life depended on their strength to keep all the evil in the world at bay.

"Hip, are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" with the sweatshirt and long pants his boyfriend always wore, Amethyst wasn't able to see if he had sustained any injuries and he wasn't positive that their connection would tell him. It was still very new and he didn't know what all would be conveyed through it anyways.

"N-no, I-I'm fine." Sniffled Hip, burrowing closer into Amethyst's chest. "I'm not hu-urt. I j-just got s-so sca-ared." He hiccupped through his tears.

"Do you want to talk about it? I only caught glimpses through the mark-vision." Amethyst spoke softly, still trying to calm the shaking form on his lap.

At hearing this, Hip pulled away to look up into his eyes, his face bathed in the light coming off Amethyst turning his bones a purple hue. "You mean, it worked? You could actually feel what I felt?"

Looking away and up at the ceiling as if it had the answers, Amethyst thought on how to describe what he had felt and seen. "I don't know. I think it worked, but I'm not able to feel you all the time. The first time I didn't even realize that it was you that I was feeling. I just felt panicky for some reason as I was walking home. Then, just a little while ago, I felt it again, but I was able to also see and feel things as if I were you." He looked back down, meeting Hip's wide-eyed gaze, "It's hard to explain and even harder to comprehend. Are you sure you're okay?" he quickly, but carefully rubbed his hands up and down Hips arms, as if he could feel if anything were out of place through the thick fabric of the jacket.

Smiling through his quickly fading tears, Hip nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. There was just a monster I didn't expect to run into at the club is all." He pushed up and placed a quick, chaste kiss on Amethyst's lips.

Smiling, despite himself, Amethyst returned the kiss lightly, but didn't drop the topic. "A tall figure in black and red with high levels? Did you recognize them or get a name? I don't like knowing that you're around monsters like that."

"H-how did you know what he was like?" Hip stammered, disbelieving.

"It was the mark-vison I think. All I know is that I was doing the dishes, then I saw a flash of black and red that towered above my line of sight and was able to feel the club around me. Then I was back in the cabin. That was when I realized what the feelings I was getting were. I somehow knew you'd be headed up here, so I sat tight and waited so we wouldn't pass each other without knowing." Amethyst had been gesturing with one hand, not letting go of Hip who had sat back a bit in his lap, as he made his description of what he had felt. "Then, as you got closer to home, I was able to feel you and how anxious you were more and more. It was honestly a bit scary for me." He admitted, lowering his head and resting it against Hip's chest as he got his breath back.

"Well, to be honest, I didn't stick around long enough to find out who they were. I just saw that they were following a human girl I know from another universe and booked it out of there. I let Teal know before I left and he seemed a bit unnerved by the guy too. I hope the girl is okay though. She's pretty cool, even if she has a few levels herself." Hip shamefully whispered, feeling that such an admission would lower Amethysts opinion of him as a monster and a mate.

Amethyst was able to feel the uncertainty coming in waves off of the skeleton on his lap and quickly enveloped him in a warm hug, pulling him close. "I'm glad you got out of there. I don't know what I would do without you." He breathed quietly.

Hip could only hum and felt himself nearing tears again as he was hit once more with how lucky he was to have such a strong mate as the monster under him right now. He was so weak, he ran the second he saw levels. Amethyst though, he worked a daytime bar that dealt with monsters in a world that supposedly was all about levels. How did he do it when he had hardly any levels himself? How could he stand to go there every day knowing he could be dusted just by walking through town?

Feeling a surge of depression move through Hip, Amethyst started rubbing his back and making shushing noises again and Hip began to weep weakly for a few more minutes. Amethyst figured it was just post stress getting to him and he would work through it. When he finally calmed down a bit again, Amethyst shifted him so he was sitting on the bed. "Let me go grab something for us to drink. If you want, you can get yourself cleaned up a bit from work. Take all the time you need. Just give a yell if you need anything."

He nodded in the direction of the bathroom down the hall and moved back to the kitchen, grabbing a different box of tea than the sleepy time one he had been about to brew before all this. When he heard the door snick shut, he smiled to himself and started heating water once more for tea. His brother may not like to handle water, but he had handled that fear a long time ago and afterwards found he rather liked tea. Once the kettle started its' whistling, he poured the water carefully over the bags that sat in the two mugs he had pulled out and added three spoons of sugar and two spoons of honey to his own, with only two spoons of sugar to Hips.

He could hear the shower running in the next room and so left the cups to steep and grabbed the extra set of clothes that were kept aside here just for occasions when Hip would stay over. That had started happening more often in recent months until last week, when Hip had finally asked him if he would mark him. He had been overjoyed, having had wanted to mark him for quite a while by then, but not wanting to push Hip into anything. They had exchanged marks, each marveling at the unique feeling that other left and the strange tingle they felt, like a phantom pain where they had marked the other. Later that day, before Teal had left for work, Hip had approached him about possibly working at the club at Amethyst's suggestion. While he didn't approve of all the sexual happenings here, he knew that Teal would look after his mate and Hip would enjoy the atmosphere where his dancing would be enjoyed by a much more diverse crowd. And so, that was how Hip had gotten this new job. After tonight though, Amethyst would understand if he called it quits and just stuck to dancing in his own verse, which would probably mean seeing less of each other again.

The water cutting off in the shower broke him from his thoughts and he quickly moved to the bathroom door, knocking once. "I'm gonna drop your clothes out here for you. I made tea for us when you're done." He called through the door.

"Thanks man. I'll be out shortly." Came the muffled response. Amethyst could only smile as he imagined Hips head buried in one of the fluffy towels that were kept in the bathroom just for him and any visitors they may get. He and his brother certainly didn't need showers like the rest of the underground. There was a certain nob in the shower that they kept hidden behind a panel just so they could get the magma they needed for their showers.

Grabbing milk from the fridge, he poured some in both cups. As he was putting it away, he heard the clicking on the stone floor behind him that signaled that Hip had forgone slippers and was walking around barefoot as he preferred to. Turning, Amethyst offered him his cup. "Made it the way you like it." He nodded for Hip to go ahead and take it.

Smiling, eyes half lidded, Hip smiled. "You're too good for me, ya know that?"

"Hmph, I could say the same for you." He shot back as he pulled out a chair at the small table that sat against the wall in the kitchen and sat while Hip leaned against the wall next to the hallway he had just come from. He watched as Hip took a sip of the tea, and deeming it cool enough to drink, took a deeper drag of the beverage. He never questioned the fact that the skeleton could eat and drink like any other monster and not change physically. It was just how things worked, magic was an amazing thing that made life for monsters like him and Hip possible. "Hip, there was something else that happened today. Can I ask what it was?" asked Amethyst, watching his features carefully.

Hip stopped for a second, trying to remember what may have happened that was out of the ordinary beyond the stranger in the club that would be significant. It took a minute, but then he remembered in a rush what had happened with Razzy back at the brothel. "Uh, I wasn't paying attention is all." He hedged.

"Hip, what happened. I was able to feel you panic and then you disappeared for a second, like you do when you leave this universe, and then you were back and in a different place." Even as he remembered it, Amethyst was able to see clearer pieces of the events that had taken place and where they had been, but still couldn't see the full picture.

Sighing, he ran a hand over the back of his skull, scraping the tender spot he'd forgotten about and flinched, eye lights flickering for a moment. He didn't miss the way Amethyst's eyes narrowed and knew he hadn't missed the flinch. Realizing he'd have to spill, he finally relented and told him everything that had happened and how he had ended up talking to Razzy, Sugar Plum, and Teal about what was going on between them.

The whole time he couldn't meet Amethyst's gaze, but he could feel the anger radiating off of him through their link as well as through the increase in temperature in the small area. "He attacked you? Razzy attacked you! I'll fucking dust that sleezeball!" on the second statement, Hip was already running for the bedroom and Amethyst was raising his voice as he talked more to himself than Hip. By the last, Hip had hidden behind the door to the bedroom and Amethyst was full out roaring in anger.

Hip actually had to move away from the door as the stone was getting too hot to be close to comfortably. He had never seen Amethyst so mad, but he had been warned about his temper and how dangerous he could be when he lost it. There was a reason the elementals lived in a stone house away from town. Beyond the door, he heard things popping and shattering from the intense heat. The main structure of the house was made of firebrick thankfully, so it could withstand much more heat, but other things were not so durable. Teal would not be happy when he came home. Hip quickly grabbed his phone from his hoodie, which he had thankfully left on the bed before going for a shower, and sent a quick text to Teal so he would be forewarned and could forward the warning to Razzy if necessary. Hip honestly hadn't expected such a brash reaction and hoped that his boyfriend would calm down before he headed out and acted on his threats that he kept yelling at the walls.

After a while, things got quiet on the other side of the door and the stone started to cool. Stepping closer to the door, Hip dared call out, "Hey, you still out there Am? Can I open the door?" after hearing no response for a few seconds, Hip carefully opened the door, staying behind it in case the heat was still too intense in the rest of the cabin. The temperature of the room rose a few degrees, but not dangerously so. Peeking around the edge of the door, his sockets widened. All the walls, normally a soothing slate grey, were glowing orange, some still losing small licks of flame as air brushed across them. The floor and ceiling was no better. "Amethyst?" Hip called out. He couldn't very well search the cabin in its current state, and short of teleporting to outside the front door, he wouldn't know if his boyfriend had left to make good on his threats.

A few moments later though, he released a sigh of relief. "Hey Hip, sorry about all this. Are you okay?" Came Amethyst's voice from somewhere else out of sight.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You're brother told me if you ever got really mad to just lock myself in a separate room until you calmed down. He said that if I was going to be spending more time around here, I should know how to take care of myself if something ever happened that you lost your temper. I thought he was exaggerating." He couldn't help laughing a little as he finished, realizing that Teal had actually been holding back a bit when he had described the damage done by one of Amethyst's flare-ups.

Turning the corner and starting down the hallway, Amethyst looked a bit dimmer than usual next to the glowing walls and Hip couldn't help but stare. He had never seen his boyfriend look so defeated, but he also had never seen him naked. They had always let the other have their privacy. Sure they had messed around, but they had certain lines they hadn't crossed. Hip could honestly say he appreciated the view, and from the way the phallic organ was starting to rise, his attention hadn't been missed and he couldn't stop his thoughts from going elsewhere real quick.

"Really Hip?! I just torched the place and that's what is dominating your thoughts!" Gasped Amethyst, a hand to his head, and another going to the wall to support him as he was hit with the arousal that suddenly bloomed in his mate.

Blushing brightly, Hip quickly spun so his back was to the fire elemental. "Uh, sorry dude. Just give me a second. I didn't mean to-" His words were cut short as he felt a wave of heat, different than what had previously been flowing in the room seconds earlier. It was spiced with the scent of roasted walnuts and dried cinnamon.

"I'm not complaining, just caught off guard. If that's what you want, I won't say no." Amethyst's voice was hoarse, coming out more a growl as his mate's arousal lodged deep in himself and he came to full hardness. He didn't go any closer, in case Hip honestly didn't want to go any further yet. He didn't want to push the kid, but he was definitely ready to take things to the next level.

"Please"

That one word knocked aside all of his inhibitions and pushed him forward. In a few strides he was on his mate, who had started to turn to meet him with hopeful eyes. Amethyst scooped him up, kissed him, and then toppled on top of him, having not stopped until he hit the bed. He wasted no time in resuming the kiss, aggressive and hungry, his hands running over Hips ribs, burning the fabric without even realizing it as his temperature started to rise once more.

Hip was completely caught off guard by the suddenness of Amethyst's approach. He didn't feel fear, like he had for Razzy, but quickly gave in to the kiss, the handling only making him want more. He only started to get nervous when he realized that his shirt was gone without him having had taken it off and that Amethyst was getting hotter with each passing moment. Just as he was about to voice his concern though, Amethyst pulled back, pure white streaks arcing through his flames.

"Tell me if I get too hot and I'll stop. I don't want to hurt you, but I am not sure I can hold back right now. He gasped, holding eye contact with Hip below him. He could feel Hip's concern as if it were his own through their link. He had not even noticed that his flames had risen in temperature in the heat of the moment.

Hip just nodded, then gasped, back arching as Amethyst's hands, which hadn't stopped their exploration of his now bare ribs, found the point where they joined his spine and the hand slid around the sensitive vertebrae. He couldn't stop the groan that followed either when that same hand moved further up, tracing each vertebrae and space between.

Amethyst closed the distance he had created between them, kissing softly alongside his skull, then brushing past, pushing his body flush to the other, and started sucking hard on vertebrae of Hip's neck, nipping occasionally as well adding marks and scorches with each brush of his fingers and each bite.

Hip couldn't believe the pleasure he was feeling. The times they had fooled around before they had traded marks had been amazing, but what he was feeling now was beyond anything he could have dreamed. He could feel his end coming quick. "Am, please, I need you!" He choked out, eyes wide and unseeing from stimulation already.

Amethyst needed no second bidding, his heat had already disintegrated everything Hip was wearing, neither of them even aware of how hot things were getting as they were lost in each other. "Give me something." He demanded.

Hip had to force himself to think for a moment before he understood the command. When he finally did, he summoned what he wanted, Amethyst hadn't said what he wanted, so Hip hoped that this was alright.

Looking down at the blue magic skin of the ass that curved around Hip's hips and connected to the dick that stood at full attention, Amethyst grinned. "So that's what you want?"

Hip nodded.

"Say it." Growled Amethyst.

"I want it. Hard." Hip gasped out the declaration, adding the last part with more determination.

Amethyst moved forward and lifted Hip's knees to his shoulders, lining his member up with the puckered entrance. He made eye contact, and still grinning, growled out "Here comes." And shoved in hard to the hilt, making Hip cry out in surprise, pleasure, and a small amount of pain. Amethyst hissed, the feeling of being surrounded by Hip's magic unlike anything he had ever imagined. It was cool, but warm, soft but with friction. He started to pull out until he heard Hip whine.

"Just, wait. Give me a second." Hip gasped.

"Take all the time you need." Assured Amethyst, running a caring hand along his ribs as he settled to wait. Through their connection, he could feel the faint stinging sensation that was quickly fading, and overpowering it was the amazing feeling of pleasure. Thinking to help distract him from the pain a bit more, Amethyst took his extra hand that wasn't rubbing soothing circles on Hip's ribs, and firmly gripped his cock, giving it a firm pump, starting slow and building speed slowly. Through their link, he knew he could move again and did so, his hand faltering for a second until he found a rhythm he could keep while both fucking Hip's blue ass and jerking him off.

"'m going ta-" Hip choked.

"Go ahead and break, my little dancer." Amethyst whispered above him huskily and gave several erratic thrusts, all hitting something in him sending him over the edge screaming his mate's name even as he felt a burning heat fill him, sending his euphoria beyond comprehension.

Sometime later, Hip finally recovered his vision and sense. He could feel a heavy and hot soreness to his bones that felt good and just a bit painful. To his back he could feel a familiar heat, not scorching, but just comfortable. Turning carefully, he smiled at the peacefully sleeping face behind him. Then he took a glance around to see if there was anything for him to wear since he was feeling a little bare, what with having nothing on. It was then that he realized that everything in the room had burned. The dresser was made of stone, like most of the furniture, so he tried that. He was quite grateful that he had a whole drawer here of extra clothes as he pulled on a new pair of pants. The floor under his feet was glowing orange with heat, but he couldn't feel it other than a faint warmth. A side effect of being marked by a fire elemental he could only assume. He looked around for his phone as he realized he should probably let Teal know everything was okay, only to realize that like everything else, it was quite baked.

"AMETHYST!"


	9. EchoTale

Chapter 8 - EchoTale

Echotale – Echo, Undyne, Monster Kid, and mentions of Alphys, Shyren, Jerry  
UnderFell – Boss (Papyrus), Fell (Sans), and mentions of Spikes (Gaster), allusions to Fell Frisk  
Underlust – Mentions of Amethyst  
Undertale – Gaster, Frisk, mentions of Sans

After making sure that Frysk had gotten to the portal safely, Echo dragged a hand over his face and turned to make a patrol round, figuring he'd grab a drink after. Lighting up a menthol, he stepped away from his spot next to the stalagmite tree and started pushing his way back through the knee deep snow. He figured he would check in with Undyne before he left, just to make sure she didn't have any errands for him to run and he figured that he should probably tell her about the portal, especially if Frysk was going through it regularly now. She wouldn't be happy.

He passed a few Jerry monsters that tried to get him to join them in making a Shyren cry, but he chased them off and forced himself to have patience as he calmed the shy monster down and offered her an escort back to her wet land. After a lot of hiccupping, she agreed, so his patrol was now not so lonesome, but had a quiet singer practicing alongside him. He doubted her song could be heard more than a few feet away, so he wasn't bothered by the fact she was making noise. It actually helped calm his temper and stress from dealing with the human. It took them a good two hours to get to Waterfall, but once there, Shyren thanked him and gave a small bow before slithering away and diving into a pool.

Sighing, he pushed on, brushing aside echo flowers that told the secrets of those stupid enough to speak near them and occasionally releasing voices that weren't even from this world as words echoed across time and space. There was a time that monsters had wondered who some of the unrecognizable voices were, but they came to accept that it was probably a distortion or something. With the portal and other verses in the mix though, Echo realized it was likely the flowers had some inter-universal connection, and he was hearing other verses conversations. Places that were safer or more deadly than his own home. Turning the last bend, he came upon the rebel leader's home. Everyone thought Undyne was merely the second in command, and Echo was the leader, but that was just a cover for security. From outside, it just looked like another hole in the ground. If inspected closer though, it was apparent that this one was different as the sides were well worn and packed, keeping the moisture of the environment from collapsing it or filling it. Echo didn't like how small it was, as he always ended up with mud smeared on his jacket and the back of his head and cargo pants, but it was one of the best hidden sites they had and it worked for Undyne. That was all that mattered.

He had been watching his surroundings the whole way here and knew there was nobody around, so he slipped into the hole and slid down through the tunnel, landing on a mat in front of a heavy door. There was no knob, nor keyhole, this hole was meant as an entrance and a trap. The tunnel he had come down was impossible to climb as it was completely smooth and slick, and the door could only be opened with the proper application of magic. He picked himself up and checked over the damage done by the tunnel and grumbled. The entire back of his pants were covered in muck, as was his jacket. He could feel the wet clinging to his skull as well, making it clear that that area was covered as well. Undyne must have passed through recently for it to be so wet. He placed his hand on the wall to the left and sent six shots of magic then two, then four. Although he could see no physical change, he knew the combo and had done it many times. After a few minutes, the door was ripped open and there stood Undyne. Her black tank top cut off just under her bust and her tight camo pants cut off mid-calf. A black wrap covered her left wrist, concealing a bad burn she had received from an elemental in one of the border skirmishes while trying to keep Asgore from taking more of the Underground.

"Hey! Get your ass in here, you dork! I gotta show you the latest ammo my girl on the inside designed for me." She grabbed his arm and yanked him inside, nearly dislocating his shoulder with her enthusiasm. The inside of the den was covered with guns, pictures of guns and ammo, and pictures of a short yellow lizard in a blotched lab jacket. On the table were two machine guns with a couple clips of ammo, along with a few stray bullets that hadn't been loaded. On the backs of two of the chairs were the packs she normally wore on her shoulders and hips to carry the extra ammo and other items she may take or acquire in the field. The whole place smelled of wet earth and algae. "Look, look! These explode, releasing a scatter shot of condensed magic that explode upon contact with the target, and these actually track the target, giving better precision when the target is moving in areas where there is a lot of cover. They aren't a sure guarantee that anything will hit, it still takes some skill from the shooter, but they increase the chance of... Hey, are you even listening?" she snapped when she noticed he was staring at her walls instead of the calibers she was yammering about on the table. When he didn't respond right away, she came over to see what had caught his attention. On the wall where he was looking, there was a picture of Dr. Gaster and Sans, both smiling and giving a thumbs up. "I forgot I still had that one." She murmured quietly.

"There are not many pictures remaining from before the accident. I'm glad that some part of my past still remains." Two voices came from Echo as he spoke, neither the voice that was normally heard. They were the combined voices of Sans and Gaster, not in perfect harmony, but still in perfect resonance of their original sound. "Safe keep this for us, in case there is ever a chance to restore our bodies without destroying the being we have created. Please Undyne." Echo turned to look at her and she caught her breath as one blue and one purple eye looked at her sadly. This wasn't Echo, it was, in fact, the doctor and his associate.

"I will, but you had better not hurt Echo or so help me." She broke off, a sob choking her even as the two eyes dimmed and a yellow iris took over.

"Uhg, what happened? What's wrong with you Undyne?! You nearly rip my arm off then you are crying. What is going on?" Echo asked, snappish as usual, and now with a headache.

"S-sorry, just a flash from the past is all." She turned away quickly. "Come on. I wanted to show you the new ammo from the capital." She was much more subdued from before now.

Echo growled, but came over anyway. She was the leader, if she wanted to act like a wus in her own home, he couldn't say anything about it. This time, as she went over the new ammo and its features, he asked questions and prodded about accuracy and safety for their own side. Once everything was settled with the new tech, he offered to run it over to Monster Kid so he could begin the mass production. He was the one who kept their ammo from running out so that Alphys didn't have to worry about smuggling large amounts out and jeopardizing her safety in Asgore's laboratories. It also kept him away from the fighting. She agreed and was about to bid him to be on his way until she remembered that he had dropped by without her summons.

"Was there something else you wanted Echo?"

"Actually, yes. A few weeks ago, a strange anomaly appeared in the woods not far from the ruins that Frysk and I are staked out at. I've investigated it a few times, and just found out that she has as well. It is not completely safe, but I have found that it leads to places like ours. Other undergrounds with copies of us. I haven't found any others where Gaster and Sans ended up in the predicament I'm in, but I have met one of the Gasters who created the portal and he was able to explain it a bit to me. I'm going to be going through it later to go get a drink if you'd care to join me."

Undyne was nodding as she took in this information and thought.

"Frysk has already made friends in some of the other undergrounds apparently, and while I know it is dangerous to let her wander off, I'm glad that she is getting to socialize a bit more. She isn't as long lived as we are. She should have a chance to enjoy her fleeting life." He finished.

She gave him a worried but curious glare on the fact that Frysk was unwatched as she was his charge, but let it go when he reminded her of the difference in life spans between monsters and humans. "I'll come out at some point to check out this 'portal' thing and who knows, maybe I'll join you for a drink some time. First things first though, get the schematics for the new ammo to Monster Kid and make sure the borders haven't been crossed. I haven't heard anything all week, so I am going to assume that they are taking their own break. They know we have Frysk, but if she is coming and going from this underground, they are probably going nuts on as to why their instruments are all over the place. This may actually give us a chance to relax a bit. Thanks Echo. Take care and be careful out there. Keep in touch." With that she went back to loading ammo into clips so it would be ready next time she needed it.

Echo picked up the plans and slipped them into one of the inside pockets in his jacket and made his way out the back. He was in and out of here enough that Undyne didn't walk him out anymore. He knew the way and there was no point in lingering. Besides, if she walked him out, that would put the two of them together and make them easier targets. The way out was much cleaner and easier to traverse than the way in, if a bit longer. A door out of the den that opened with a simple knob on the inside and the same magic that worked on the entrance from the other side. Down a corridor to what looked like a dead end flat wall. This he just fired a golden gaster blaster at and the wall groaned, then split in two, opening from the center and letting him into a small cave. Once he was past the opening, it snapped shut, sealing as if it had never moved. It could only be opened from the inside though. Just another safety precaution. Leaving the cave, Echo made his way back into the snow covered domain that was his area to watch over and to deliver the plans to Monster Kid, who lived even deeper in the ice bound land than he did. Making his rounds, and checking the doors that led to the deepest part of the underground for any new prints to signify they had another new human to worry about, they didn't, he pushed on and in the center of the snow-bound ruins, found Monster Kid scraping through a wooden shack probably looking for trouble.

"Hey, Kid. I got new orders for ya. I need these put into production ASAP." He walked over and handed them down. "Undyne got them from her source."

"How is she? She's just amazing. I hope I can get to be as strong as her." The kid gushed as a set of bionic arms he had designed took the layout from Echo and tucked it safely in one of his pouches.

Echo couldn't help but grin at the kid's enthusiasm. "She's as brutish and bossy as ever."

"Awesome!" gasped the kid.

"Well, you'd better get started on those. We're counting on you."

"Yes sir!" and he took off, falling on his face several times before disappearing from sight.

Echo couldn't believe someone so clumsy was so good at production, but the kid pulled through every time. With the plans delivered, and his patrol now done, he was free for the rest of the day. Having nothing better to do, he figured he would follow through on his earlier plan and go pay a visit to Amethyst in his bar. The low-level elemental in the Fell verse was always easy going and happy to talk. He didn't know how the guy kept from being dusted but he certainly ran a nice joint.

Stepping through the portal, the change was instant and disorienting as it always was. The two story house and fenced in back area always made him feel hemmed in and a bit small, even though he was six foot. The snow here was almost as grey as that in his verse, but still a few shades lighter. Echo made his way from out behind the house, ignoring the sniveling that came from the small attached building behind it. It wasn't any of his business. As he went to step out of the yard and away from the property entirely, a form even taller than his own stepped in front of him, blocking his way, forcing him to take a few steps back.

"And who the fuck are you? Trying to kill my bro's pet no doubt, heh, well now you shall deal with me, the great and terrible Boss of Snowdin!" exclaimed the towering skeleton monster who promptly summoned a lethal looking sword.

"Whoa, calm down bud. I'm just here to get a drink at Amethyst's. I'm just passing through." Echo held his hands out, showing he wasn't currently holding any weapons, though the fact that he was armed was plain to see. "From that thing." He jerked his head toward the portal behind him and pointed with is thumb over his shoulder as well.

Boss studied him for a few moments more, then dispelled the sword. "Heh, Spikes did say we might be getting strangers through it at times. What a nuisance. Well, I guess I'll have my lazy brother take you to the bar. He usually goes around this time anyway. Come on." He stepped away, gesturing for Echo to step ahead of him, but he stood his ground.

"I'm sure I can find my own way thank you, and I'm not fool enough to show my back to a potential enemy. You did just pull a sword on me without provocation."

Boss narrowed his eyes. "Well, you aren't stupid, that much I can see at least." He looked him up and down. "I'll still have my brother accompany you. I don't need any more trouble running around here. We have enough without you adding more. Give me your name."

"I'm Echo, you said your name is Boss, correct? And your brother that is to be accompanying me, what would his name be?" Echo finally submitted to accepting an escort. Having a drinking buddy wasn't always a bad thing, and the guy looked a lot like the Papyrus from his world, similar attitude too.

Boss growled, but answered. "He's called Fell. Come on then." This time he stepped to the side so that Echo could walk beside him. Echo's head only came up to his shoulder. Boss was around six foot ten.

Nodding, Echo stepped out of the yard and easily fell in step with Boss and he led the way to the front of the house. Echo stepped to the side of the door so that Boss could open it and at Boss's indication, stepped in first.

The area was clean, other than a few small socks laying under the sofa or in the corners. Standing just inside the door and off to the side, Echo was able to see and watch the entire room and know what was going on without being in the way or getting caught between anything that may happen. The way he positioned himself was not lost on Boss either.

Once the door closed, Boss sighed, rubbing a gloved hand up over his head. "You can relax. A lot of that is for show. As I'm sure you've noticed, this is not a soft world. You obviously don't come from a plushy place either." Boss glanced sideways at a space just above Echo, focusing and brining into his vision the other's levels. They were actually almost even. It was impressive, in a sick and gruesome way. He put the thought out of his head and headed toward the stairs, or more correctly the closet under the stairs, which he then banged on harshly. "Fell, get out here, I have a job for you." He roared, making Echo jump slightly behind him.

"Commin' Boss!" Called out a slightly pitched voice. It almost could have been female, but not quite. It certainly sounded cute. When the short closet door opened, and a small skeleton stepped out, Echo wasn't too surprised to see a Sans look-a-like, but the sharp teeth and the one gold one were certainly a surprise. He looked badass in a black jacket and tawny faux fur lining with a broken red soul patched on the sleeves and a red turtleneck underneath and finally a gold and silver spiked dog collar. The look somehow wasn't diminished by the black basketball shorts that fell past his knees. On his right hand he had a small gold ring on every finger, each inset with a different colored stone. His left was buried in his pocket, but it wasn't hard to assume that the fingers of that hand also had the final colors of the souls set in gold rings. Connected to his collar and wrapped around his shoulders was a large heavy gold chain. To finish off the look, although it was probably not done for pleasure or anesthetic, a crack ran up from his left eye, which burned a bright red, and down from it a few inches in each direction. For being such a small being, he was exceptionally intimidating.

Boss obviously wasn't intimidated in the least as he reached down and wrapped the gold chain tight around the smaller's frame. "Fell, this outsider want to go to the bar. Why don't you escort him and make sure he doesn't cause any trouble while he's there. Perhaps he'll help you in return for your generosity."

Fell's eyes widened as the chain continued tightening until it was grinding his bones quite painfully, but not quite enough to snap any of them. "Yes Boss, I can do that. It will be no problem, or rather, I will make sure he causes no problems, sir, Boss." Fell stammered as he tried to look away and convince his younger brother that he could handle the task.

Disgusted with his brother's weakness, Boss let the chains fall loose and waved to Echo. "He's over there. Make sure there are _no_ _mishaps_ or else." He growled and stomped to the kitchen.

Echo didn't know what to make of the strange display. Boss had not looked over to him, so it wasn't a show, and Fell took it all like it was normal. Was this the way things were in this verse? It seemed that hostility was not just outside of the home as Boss had made it sound when they had first entered the house. He saw Fell duck back in the closet, only to immerge seconds later with a set of black sneakers that had spikes on the backs of the heels and over the toes. They matched the rest of his outfit.

Once his shoes were tied, Fell made his way out, followed by Echo. Once they were outside, Echo spoke up. "I'm sorry to be any trouble. I've visited the bar here a few times without incident, but I've never run into your brother before. I was just looking to get a way a little." He shrugged as he finished.

"Well, you just happened to come after Amethyst's closed and they won't open for a few days, but you gave Boss a reason to let me out of that closet and go to the bar for an indefinite amount of time. You pick the verse and first round is on me." Now that they were away from Boss, Fell's voice deepened and lost the feminine crack that it had had inside. He also had more attitude and confidence it seemed.

"Well, if that is how it is, I'll let you pick. This is the only verse I know other than my own. I'll hazard a guess you know more than I." reasoned Echo. Fell certainly seemed more reasonable than his brash brother.

"Damn straight I know more than two fucked up verses. In fact, I know the perfect pussy verse to get us some good drinks cheap. They wouldn't know how to dust someone if their life depended on it, so we'll be completely safe to get trashed too, heh. Come on." By this time, they were back to the portal. Fell held out his hand and Echo hesitantly took it, unsure about putting his life in the hands of someone he didn't know, but the other had so little HP he didn't think that he really had to worry about being in immediate danger if he stayed next to the small skeleton.

The stepped through and onto clean, crisp snow that was well tracked from the passage of people coming and going through the portal. No sooner had they stepped through and a little away though, than did another set come through. Another skeletal monster with a groaning human in his arms had just popped through and had a purple blush covering his face.

"Hold on Frisk, I'll get you some cool cloths and somewhere warm soon. Oh, I hope Sans isn't too drunk yet. I'm going to need his help with this!" The newcomer muttered to himself. Then he finally noticed the company. "Oh, hello. I'm sorry, but I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment. If you could come back in, oh, say an hour, maybe I could…" his words died as he took in their appearance and finally their levels. "Oh stars. I hope Sans is home."

Fell smirked. "We'll be at the bar. Mine's closed for the week and my buddy and I could use a drink. There's no problem with that, now is there?" his grin showed off his gold tooth as well as the degree to which all of them were sharpened.

"No, no problem what-so-ever. If you see a skeleton there, could you tell him that he's needed at home to help with Frisk if he's not too drunk already?" the man asked. He was afraid of letting these two go, but he wasn't really in a position to question them. This is what he got for creating a portal and not locking it up against monsters like these. Spikes had scared the bijeezes out of him, the smaller one who had done the talking somewhat resembled him, but the other, he dressed closer to the way Frysk typically did, not that he was going to ask them about their origins.

"Of course. That will be no problem at all. Is your girl alright?" Echo stepped forward, leaning down a little to examine her. She was similar to Frysk alright.

Gaster looked up, started as the taller stranger moved forward. "Y-yes, she just got drunk when she was out with a friend. I-I'm sure she'll recover with rest." He couldn't believe he was stuttering just because of levels. He didn't have this problem with Frysk, but the scent coming off the taller skeleton was nice. Gaster shook his head. 'The lust verse air must be addling my mind' he thought as he forced himself to not step back.

"We'll be going then. Thank you." Echo told him, stepping back now that he had sated his curiosity as to the similarities between the human in his verse and another verses human.

As the two of them walked away, Echo could hear Fell grumbling and mocking him, "Oh, we'll be going now. Thank you. Like we needed that pansy's permission. I go where I want." He unconsciously pulled at the chain attached to his collar.

Echo smiled to himself. The little skeleton was certainly interesting.


	10. A Soldier and A Scientist

Chapter 9 – A Soldier and A Scientist

UnderFell - Fell (Sans)  
Echotale - Echo (Sans)  
Undertale - Sans, Grillby, Gaster, Papyrus, Undyne

As they walked up to the door of the small, quaint establishment with a bright neon sign stating that this was Grillby's Bar, Fell pushed the door open and walked in, leaving Echo to catch it as it swung heavily back in his face. The inside was nicely heated, taking the cold from their bones quickly, but not overheating them, and there was a peaceful air about the place. There were only one or two other customers in the booths and they didn't even look up. It was pretty late and they were already deep in their drinks. At the bar was a hunched skeleton in a blue jacket, several pint glasses empty on either side of him spoke of his drinking so far.

Fell walked right up to the bar and boosted himself up next to the current occupant, pushing some of the glasses back toward him to make room for himself. They raised their head at the clinking glass and blinked slowly at their new companion. "Wha'd you want, ya damn fluff bunny." Snarled Fell, baring his teeth.

The other blinked. "That's no way to greet a new pal." He slowly slurred, then offered a hand. "You are supposed to shake hands and say hello." He was clearly drunk.

Fell snorted, but took the hand, only to yank his away yelping. "What the hell!" His voice cracked, the feminine sound laced through it again.

The blue hooded skeleton fell off his seat laughing, not even noticing when he bashed his head against another chair on the way down, hugging his sides. "Oldest. Trick. In. The. Book." He gasped.

Fell glared, his cracked eye starting to glow red, until he realized that, indeed, it was an old trick, and one he had played as a baby bones more than once. In this pansy universe, they never got past small pranks, but the shock on all his rings had not felt good in the least. "You owe me a drink for that pal." He growled.

"Sure, sure. Hey Grillbz, two more please, on my tab."

An orange fire elemental looked up and narrowed his eyes at Fell, but nodded. He noticed Echo and raised a brow.

"I'll pass. Thanks. I forgot I had something I needed to do. Maybe some other time." He lied. That man from the portal wouldn't get any help from this skeleton. He was wasted. Echo figured he'd offer what help he could. Before their bar in his verse had burned three years ago, Frysk had been a common patron and a heavy drinker. He knew all about taking care of over drinking.

With that thought, he stepped back out into the chill Snowdin air and made his way back over to the building beside the portal. It was a towering two story structure, but he figured, was probably average size if the bar and library were anything to go by. Stepping up to the porch, he knocked off his shoes on the wood to get the worst of the snow off and knocked on the front door.

Seconds later, the skeleton from earlier opened the door. "Yes, oh dear…um, how can I help you sir?" His eyes got wide as he realized who was at the door and looked up at Echo.

"Chill out, your friend at the bar was drunk when we got there, so I thought I'd offer my assistance. I've had my share of dealing with drunk humans and you seemed a bit, how to say, off balance, with the girl." He could help but smirk as he remembered being in the same situation only a few years ago as fifteen year old Frysk collapsed outside their hut in the snow so wasted she couldn't even walk.

"You, you want to help? You know how to handle this sort of thing gently?" He asked.

"Yup, name's Echo, and you?" He offered a hand. This guy didn't seem like the kind to pull a prank, he was too flustered to even think straight, but reminded him of Undyne's girlfriend and one of his past selves, though those he barely remembered.

"G-Gaster. Please come in." He stepped aside and let Echo in. As Echo stepped past, Gaster couldn't help but notice the mud that covered his guest's back. "Uhm, would you like help with the mud, Mr. Echo?" He asked. He was a bit of a clean freak and the thought of all that flaking in the carpet was a nightmare.

"Huh?" Echo ran a hand over the back of his skull, sending a cascade of dried flakes and bits falling. "Euhg, yeah, if you wouldn't mind. I completely forgot. Damn Undyne and her stupid tunnels." He looked at the powder now covering his hand, before going to wipe it off on his pants as he normally did.

"Just hold still please." Gaster's voice stopped him from moving. It had more authority than it had had moments before.

He saw the purple magic envelope him, but it didn't touch his soul. He remained tense, unused to letting others use their magic directly on him, but the magic didn't seem to even be touching him, but then the dirt lifted from his hand and he felt it peeling away from his skull and the stiffness leave his pants and jacket and had to resist the urge to shrug into the now more malleable material. Once the magic dissipated, he did just that, rolling his neck as well as the muck had gotten between his vertebrae.

"Thanks, a little more warning next time though please." He growled, even as there was a shout from ahead and above him. Looking up, he saw a much more relaxed looking, if currently panicked Undyne staring past him, or more correctly, at his construct that hovered behind Gaster.

Gaster's head snapped up. "What's wrong Undyne?"

"What's behind your head! It's huge!" she screeched and pointed.

Gaster turned and stumbled back, right into Echo, who of course caught him but ended up in a pile tangled up with Gaster. The belts on the sides of his pants catching on loose catches on Gaster's open coat and making things all the more awkward as they tried to separate even as they tried to help the other up.

Papyrus came out when he heard all the screeching and thumping. He had seen Sans's blasters before so recognized it, even if it's colors were off, and took in the scene: Undyne wide-eyed at the railing of the loft screeching, Gaster tangled with a strange skeleton on the floor who's eyes matched the giant blaster by the door, and an unconscious Frisk on the couch.

"NOT TO WORRY UNDYNE! THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN HANDLE THIS!" he walked down the stairs, picked up Echo and Gaster, easily disentangling them much like one of his puzzles, and then grabbed a cool rag from the bin that was already on the floor beside Frisk and replaced her cloth.

Echo, at a loss for words at the gentle handling by the Papyrus that looked so much like his own, and yet different, found his magic dispelled in the confusion. Glancing at Gaster, he saw the purple blush on the man's face had only deepened to a dark violet and couldn't stop the golden yellow that dusted his own face as he realized how awkward things had gotten so fast.

Undyne was speechless at Papyrus's fluid handling of the situation.

"SHALL WE RETURN TO OUR GAME SO THAT I MAY CRUSH YOU ONCE AND FOR ALL ON THE GREAT CART OF MARIO?" he challenged Undyne, hands on hips.

She gasped, easily distracted. "Never!" and dashed back in his room. He grabbed two glasses of water from the fridge before heading up and joining her, the sounds of the game already playing as Undyne got a head start.

"Well, _that_ was embarrassing." Gusted Gaster as he walked over to the table and collapsed into a chair.

"Yeah, definitely." Agreed Echo, still wide-eyed from the close encounter with a second Papyrus in so short a time.

They remained in their respective spots for a few minutes as everything processed and they calmed down, then the silence began to become awkward as both realized they were waiting for the other to say something.

Gaster finally was the one to break the silence. "So, you said you have experience with this sort of thing? Usually Papyrus just takes care of Sans if he's too out of it when he comes home, so I really have no idea and I don't drink, so, yeah." He didn't know why he was suddenly ashamed of his abstinence from alcohol, but there it was, he was blushing even more. If he didn't stop, this visitor was sure to think something was wrong with him.

"Yeah, the Frysk in my world is a heavy drinker. I had to take care of her since she fell and she took to drinking a few years back. She's probably out drinking now. Said she was going to see some friends, but lately she's been coming home drunk, and we don't have a bar anymore. At least I know how now."

Gaster's eyes never left Echo as he spoke, and his curiosity only grew. "You're Frisk wouldn't happen to wear a black and red cut-off shirt and carry a gun," his eyes flicked down to Echo's on set of artillery, "would she?"

"Yes. That sounds like her. You've met?" Echo questioned.

"She took our Frisk out to the club tonight and that how she ended up like this. She's never drank a drop before, and from what she said, wasn't planning on drinking tonight. That leads me to believe that Frysk either spiked her drink or didn't pay attention and left Frisk with her drink. She says that it was the second and she didn't realize."

Echo sighed and finally sat in a recliner. "She has always been oblivious to how her actions affect others. I'm sorry for the trouble. I'll have a word with her." He promised.

"So is there anything I can do for her?" asked Gaster, gesturing to his own human problem.

Looking over, Echo groaned and pushed himself out of the chair he had just sat in. It had been comfy, and walked over to the unconscious girl and lightly laid one of his open palms over her forehead and another over her stomach. Looking up at Gaster he told him, "You're going to want a bucket over here very soon, and a big one. I'm going to purge her system."

Gaster's eyes went wide, but then he took off for the kitchen at a sprint as if he thought she'd start spilling at any second. Echo could only grin. He wouldn't do that, this place was too clean to foul like that. Dashing back in, Gaster held up a large basin. "Will this work?"

"Just fine, bring it over and I'll show you what I do whenever my girl get in over her head." He laughed lightly.

Gaster, who's face had finally gone back to its normal white, flushed lavender again. He liked Echo's laugh, it was husky with a scraping undertone. He moved the basin with warm water aside and set the basin in its place, just below where Frisk's head rested on the couch.

Nodding, Echo turned back to the girl and focused his magic, putting more intent on healing and less on attacking. He wasn't used to doing this particular kind of magic as after the first few times, Frysk had found her limit so she could avoid the purging. It was never pleasant. After a few seconds, Frisk's eyes snapped open and she rolled toward him, head going over the couch, where Echo caught her and his other hand went up into her gut, forcing her to dispel everything she had into the bucket. It took a good ten minutes of puking, but she finally had nothing left in her system.

Echo directed Gaster to give the girl some water to rinse her mouth then spit, which she was grateful for, before slipping back to sleep. Turning back to Gaster after making sure she was comfortable, Echo explained, "We got everything out of her system now, so she won't get any more drunk than she already is, but she will be severely dehydrated for the next few days and whatever her body has already absorbed will be there until it processes it and gets rid of it. She may puke again a few more times, but for now, let's get this out and cleaned up." He gestured at the basin full of stinking acid that the girl had expelled.

Gaster was more than happy to help dispose of the substance. "Is it normal for them to expel so much like that?" He asked. He had only seen her with a stomach bug once, but the brothers had taken care of her then and it he had never seen her actually puke, and Sans always dealt with this part of the hangover on his own, so Gaster was completely in the dark.

"When they get drunk, yes. Normally they won't puke unless they are sick or something messes with the balance of the material in their bodies. While humans are physically stronger than us, they come with many weakness of the flesh that we don't have to deal with, thankfully."

"How interesting." Mused the doctor as he fell into thought about how the human body was different than any of the many different kinds of monsters and how it reacted to the magic stimulus that had just been applied. He had seen that same practice applied to monsters many times and it normally resulted in a healing. On her though, it seemed to have the opposite effect, unless, by healing, it caused the expulsion. That was an interesting theory for sure!

Echo watched the other skeleton as he set the now clean and empty basin back beside Frisk in case she should need it. Gaster's eyes tracked unseen things as he thought, chasing ideas and thinking fast on theories that he could only hypothesize on as he would never make the human a test subject. That was inhumane. It reminded Echo of a time from before he was made and he wasn't sure what to think of it. He knew that this Gaster was an alternate version of the one that had been fused to make himself, but wasn't sure how to ask to know more about the one in front of him, so he just sat and watched him think in companionable silence.


	11. Another Author's Note

Author's Note,  
'Cause I'm getting' lost and some of yal may be too.

So here we're gonna cover who all we've met, where they are currently, what they're up to without spoiling too much, verifying any unclear ships in the works, and making sure we know wtf we are reading. If you have kept up so far and know who, what, where, how, when, and why, props to you, cause I'm having a hard time doing it and I have 3 tablets, a phone, pics, 13 word documents and music vids of stuff and I'm confuzled. So, without further ado, I present another note from my (not so) illustrious self.

Also, if you are wondering how tall your favorite character may be, it will be listed here. Just another reason to read!

At this point, we have traveled a total of five hours. In another hour the club will be closing, so yay, we are getting that Lust verse threesome soon.

In that time, Hip has nearly been assaulted by Razzy, because Razzy was horny from his marked brother getting fucked over the bar in the club by Teal. Hip, smart cookie that he is, put one and two together and got three and convinced the boys to talk and move on. We find out that he is friends with Sugar Plum, and that his boyfriend has a fiery temper, and then find out he is an elemental, the one and only Amethyst the purple flame. There will be one or two flash back chapters on how those two met and became a marked pair as well as a chapter a day or two ahead of current time with these two. I'm still playing with dynamics and bonding, but that's a wrap on Hip. Hip is 4'4", yes, I'm using American measure cause I'm a stupid American and don't know metric, sorry, I'm not motivated enough to research.

As for the Lust characters I have mentioned, Teal, Razzy, and Sugar Plum, well, Teal is a yellow-ish Grillby with teal tipped hair, hence how he got his name. Razzy and Sugar Plum are your average Underlust skeletons that you get when you image search em. Teal is 5'11", Razzy is 6'5", and Sugar Plum is 3'9". Sugar is the second shortest character in the fic.

It was due to a comic strip with these three that this little fic was born. I don't know who made it, but I found it on or something and fell in love with it. And so the Club was borne! Originally it was a pub, but eh, a club sounds more fun.

Back to Lust, I have also mentioned Undyne and Muffet as some of you likely remembered. These will not be major characters as far as I know at the moment. Sorry, I know some of you were rooting for them, but I'm not a good writer of females, hence why I have so many male leads. I'm a yaoi lover. ;P But, that aside, it was mentioned that Undyne had a girlfriend, yes, she is with Alphys. I don't care for the ship, but it's cannon. I'm not much of an Alphys lover. Sorry.

NEXT VERSE!

So next lets jump to classic Undertale. There we have a depressed Frisk spelled with an "I", and she just so happens to have an unrequited crush on Sans, and he knows it. Frisk obviously just got drunk, so she's gonna be out for a few hours, and yal have seen the progress that happens in an hour, she's gonna be out for a bit. Like me, she's a lightweight, unlike me, she got hungover. Poor girl, I hear hangovers suck. Anyway, her ship has been introduced, but not met yet. Considering we've only got like two major characters other than her without ships, that makes it kinda obvious that she's gonna be with a Fell verse skelly, but hey, question is which one, I'll leave yal to wonder. They both get ships, hahaha teaser! Frisk is 5'4".

Papyrus and Undyne make appearances occasionally, but are not major characters. This is pacifist Undertale, so Undyne is pretty laid back. I may almost go as far as to say that Papyrus and Undyne are a quiet ship or extremely close friends, but the story won't touch them, they are more so support characters.

Sans is a drunk, but mostly because he's got nothing better to do and doesn't really know what to do with his life. Living with the doctor, they have it made. A house, a good electricity supply, and a good friend that they mooch off of. What more can he ask for? Don't worry, he gets a ship and it turns him around. I forget off the top of my head who it is and if we've met them yet, but I don't think we have. BUT IT IS COMING! Sans is 4'0".

Finally, we've got Gaster. You may have already put the pieces together, but yeah, Echo is gonna be his buddy. It is planned to start slow and heat up, but I'm bad at slow, so we'll see how it rolls. Gaster is a scaredy cat, but he's got power and intelligence. Who knows, maybe he'll end up helping Echo, idk, we'll see. The fun of writing. Gaster is 5'8", just like me! Whoop!

NEXT VERSE!

Well, I could jump to the mess with Nightmare, but I'm gonna save that for last, so instead, leeeettt's say….. Echotale. I just hit that one and Fell, but Echo got more of the description.

Here we ran into some interesting dynamic that wasn't well explained. My bad, but I didn't want to ramble in the story, it slows it down too much and that is bleh for everyone. So, if you haven't put it together yet, Sans and Gaster from Echotale were scientists, messed up an experiment and kablooey, they are gone and Echo is here. He's got miniscule fragments of their memories, but he is his own person. Sans's and Gaster's souls still reside in Echo though, so he is essentially three monsters, a successful amalgamate if there is such a thing. Well, as mentioned his Frisk aka Frysk had a crush on Sans and transferred her affections to him in the hopes that he would be the same person for her. No such luck. At this time I have no plans of bringing back Gaster or Sans from Echotale, we are stuck with just Echo and he is the sexiest skelly in my opinion, so neh (*I stuck my tongue out at yal who complained. I'm childish like that) Echo is 6'0".

Obviously we have Frysk, a headstrong young woman who does whatever she wants but has some common courtesy. Beyond that, I haven't really developed her. Frysk is 5'8", same as me and Gaster.

I'm not really going into who has what soul and the whole human soul concept. Lusttale was the only one I touched with that because their barrier broke. That is all for EchoTale though, so moving on to UnderFell.

NEXT VERSE!

In UnderFell we have three major characters and one minor one that I'm likely going to kill off when nobody is watching. That will be a short and gruesome mini chapter somewhere when the pet dies. Nobody likes Betty anyways…okay, someone probably does, I don't. ANYWAY, here we have Spikes, Boss, and Fell.

Spikes is the Gaster of this verse, he helped Gaster from Undertale create the portals and convinced him where to anchor it and to leave it open for all verses. His is one of the bad ones and he didn't want to be cut out. He is a complete dominatrix and doesn't have a single mercy bone in his body. He is extremely protective of what he considers his property, but also demands complete respect and expects it to be given without thought. He likes when his prey struggles, but he hates cries for mercy. Spikes is currently hooked up with Frysk, but they are not marked yet. Spikes is the second tallest next to his youngest brother at 6'7".

Boss is vindictive and considers the middle brother his property. He is the Papyrus if that wasn't obvious yet. He bullies him and thinks that he is worthless because of his extremely low HP, regardless of the strength of the attacks his brother is capable of. He would love to have a gentler universe, but can't break the habit of beating on his more submissive sibling. He is very brash and quick to jump to the most aggressive conclusion making him the perfect commander for the royal guard of UnderFell as he acts first, asks questions later. Boss stands at 6'10"

Fell is the Sans of this verse and is the middle brother of Spikes and Boss. He is completely submissive to Boss and respects Spikes while also fearing him. Spikes treats Fell well, but won't help him when it comes to defense unless he's on the verge of death. When he's away from Boss, Fell is aggressive, but that is a façade used to help keep him safe in his verse and he doesn't drop it when he leaves to visit others. Fell is 3'11"

NEXT VERSE!

Let's hit Dreamtale, then I'll go into Alchemytale.

Alchemytale is running a few days behind the main story, but will catch up and tie in eventually, they just have a lot of work to do. We will check on them periodically.

Dreamtale was supposed to be this fairytale land that was quite literally like a fantasy dream. Somewhere kids would love to be. Well, kids did love it and what Nightmare said was completely true. I wrapped that one up tight and seeing as nobody is commenting, I'll assume I don't have to expand any more on it. I didn't like how they treated Nightmare so I'm not gonna stay here and bash it like I will if I do.

Nightmare is highly misunderstood and untrained in his abilities, this is why he has such a hard time making friends. People who can befriend something like Grillby or Undyne should have no problem at all with a black skeleton, even if it does have tentacles. The miasma that Blaster points out is Nightmare's main problem, and he will learn to control it. He is extremely insecure due to the treatment he received in Dreamtale and just wants some attention and friendship. He's not looking for a relationship, but he's got one. If you didn't catch it, him and Daedarath are a thing. Nightmare stands at 4'5" and that's not counting how high his tentacles can reach, that's just to the top of his skull.

Dipping into Alchemytale, my personal creation, we have a slightly steampunkish Undyne named Daedarath. Like all Undynes, she is a bit flighty, completely excitable, but also a deep thinker. She is vying for a spot next to the verse's idol, Papyrus (he had to get there someday, right? And he's shipped with Mettaton, not that I touch it, it's just mentioned in passing) and is extremely professional. She lacks her long flowing locks that we are used to seeing her with, but has a short choppy haircut instead, pulling a pixie cut and managing to not look butch, but still badass. She cares a lot for Blaster, practically raised him, but made sure he stood on his own when it counted. Perfect big sister material there. Dae is 5'10"

No, I didn't steal her name from BioShock was it? I don't play advanced systems. I only have a pc and a phone, so I'm not sure what game for sure and I'm too lazy to look it up.

Blaster, as was mentioned, got his name cause he blows up everything he works on. Just a quirk that he can't get away from, sort of like classic Pap can't cook for all that he tries forever and a day. He occasionally gets down and his new appearance has certainly come as a shock, and to add to the whole bad day, he gets to be the one to discover there are alternate dimensions. Don't worry, I won't let him blow up the portals. He is exceptionally smart, and with Dae and Nightmare helping him, I'm sure they can get the portal to open to them. Blaster is 4'5"

Blaster almost didn't have a ship, but I have rectified that. His ship has not arrived, but man is he gonna be funny. I had to create his name too, but I went with a font cause nothing else would ring. I'll give yal a name and let you try and figure out exactly which verse he'll be from. The name you will be watching for is Segoe, and he will be 6'2". That's the tease for my Scientific bean.

The portals have not opened on every verse yet. There are infinite verses, so we can't expect everyone to have a portal at the snap of a finger, can we? In between the time they use to get the portal up, they will work on Nightmare's miasma too, so he will actually be able to mingle a bit more. Yay for Nightmare, my tentacle baby.

WRAP UP!

Okay, so we currently have met sixteen of the twenty-three main characters that this story will contain. I have four more AU's to hit, only two of them will be hit on heavily, and one of them has been destroyed, so only three really. That's a clue to one of the incoming characters. Not to worry though, this story still has a long way to go. I can't believe this was supposed to be a oneshot. Definitely not what I was planning when I started it and I can't say that I'm upset. I thank everyone for the views, the kudos, the faves, the follows, and from the three people on one site, the replies. Major thanks go out to StormyFictioners on as they have been a huge supporter of this story and it's progress. Many thanks!

See ya next week!


	12. Fuckerdoodle

Chapter 10 – Fuckerdoodle

WARNING! ANGST, FLUFF, FIGHTING, BITING, AND MAKE-UP/MARKING EXPLICIT SEX! DON'T LIKE, DON'T READ!

Okay, I'm done, enjoy!

UnderLust – Undyne, Muffet, Sugar Plum (Sans), Razzy (Papyrus), Teal (Grillby)

Mentions of Dancetale - Hip (Sans), Underlust Amethyst (Grillby #2), UnderFell Spikes (Gaster), Echotale – Frysk (Frisk), Undertale – Gaster, Frisk

UnderLust Verse

The next three hours flew by in a blur as business only got more hectic and the chance for a break for any of the employees at Teal's Strip Club was completely out of sight. At one forty-five, fifteen minutes before closing Teal announced on the sound system that they would soon be closing and that everyone please gather their things. By two o'clock the establishment was empty but for the three dancers and Teal. Everyone was still buzzed from their shifts and having kept active in the positive environment and while the volume was turned down, music still played as they finished with the cleaning of the tables and floor. It had been decided that everyone would help with the clean-up after hours so nobody got stuck with it all and it got done that much faster. Half an hour later everyone was leaving, Undyne and Muffet headed for the library to browse for new toys or videos. Sugar Plum lingered by the door as Teal finished locking up.

"Um, hey, Teal, do you think we could talk, maybe back at my place?" Sugar Plum asked, unsure of how to bring up the topic that left him worried often and from what Hip said, occupied the minds of both the monsters he adored.

Teal looked down at his normally suave and confident fuck buddy and also remembered what Hip had told him. He sighed heavily, causing a large mist to billow away from him in the cold air. "Let's go get this all settled. Have you told Razzy yet?" He found he couldn't meet the skeleton's eyes, which was just as well as Sugar Plum couldn't muster the courage to look up.

"No, not yet. I know he'll be up though. He always waits up for me to get home." The untold was blaringly obvious. It wasn't just so that he knew his brother got home safe, it was so he could finally fuck and get off as well as reaffirm his mark and mate.

"Look, Plum, I know that you and Razzy are mates already. Are you sure you actually want to bring me in? Your brother never really seemed to care all that much for me and I don't want to mess things up for you two."

At this, Sugar Plum looked up shocked and saw Teal looking away, fists at his side and unmistakable tears already starting to form in his eyes. "Teal? I want this. I want you. I can't choose, I need you both. As for mates and all that, we, me and Razzy, we aren't mates. I've never marked him. I didn't know if I should while I still love another as well. And I do love you. Please, will you come home with me and we can work this all out with Razzy and figure out what we're gonna do. I don't wanna hurt either of you."

Teal took a deep breath and nodded. With that, they headed across town, the small skeleton in front of the larger elemental who casted shadows in every direction as the crystals in the ceiling were dimmed for the night. Ahead of him he could see the tense line of his lover's shoulders and instantly wondered what was going through his mind.

Feeling the stare on his back, Sugar Plum shrugged in his vest, then knelt, as if to tie his shoes, and scooped up a small amount of fresh powder and turned, clumsily throwing it at Teal then stumbling back as he tried to step away and catch his balance at the same time.

The white powder melted then evaporated before it even made contact, but it still made Teal jump then laugh. "What was that for?!" he called as Sugar Plum had managed to catch his balance, but it had put him several lengths away where he stood laughing.

"You need to lighten up and I need a break in the tension. Now I'm cold though." He chaffed his bare arms briskly.

Teal shook his head smiling and walked up and picked him up. "Come on then, I don't want a frozen Plum. Let's go." Sugar Plum squealed at being picked up but couldn't push Teal away when he was so warm and he himself was so underdressed for the snow.

They quickly reached the front door, painted a cute lavender that matched Sugar's heartlights with a pink trim that matched Razzy's. Everything about the house was themed around the two skeletons in pink and purple. Teal put Sugar Plum back down on his feet in front of the door, figuring he'd have to unlock it to let them in, but he just turned the knob and let them in. Teal was surprised, but given how lusty Razzy was and what his stamina was, not many would try to jump him. There was a reason the skeleton was able to keep the brothel running with just himself and still fuck his brother before and after work. The guy didn't have a refractory period. Teal had never actually been in the skeleton brother's home before, but found that the place was very plush and well outfitted, even if the scent of sex was a bit overwhelming at first.

"Have a seat Teal, I'm sorry, but if Razzy's going to be manageable at all, I'm gonna have to try to get him off." Sugar Plum blushed lavender.

Teal felt a wave of possessiveness wash over him, but pushed it off. Razzy had been known to get out of hand when not handled, having caught the plague much worse than most other monsters. He'd been in the city when it was unleashed, practically in the center of the blast zone, so if unhandled, his lust sometimes overruled his reason. He waved for Sugar to go on. "I'll be here. You have any alcohol in the fridge?"

"Thanks man, there should be some Fireball, Moonshine, and Shnapps."

"Who're you talking to sweetness?" came Razzy's voice from somewhere on the upper floor.

Sugar Plum's eyes when wide and he dashed upstairs. "You're actually coherent tonight? Did you have _that_ many clients?" he gushed as he burst through their shared bedroom door.

Razzy laughed lightly. "No, well, I did have a few more than were on the roster, but they were nothing I couldn't handle. It's more like I talked with Hip when he was on his way to work, I assume you know him since he works with you," the way Sugar Plum straightened up was confirmation enough "well, he stopped to talk to me and before he left he mentioned something that I wanted to talk to you about, and I've been meaning to talk to you for a while now, so I made sure I was clear headed for when you got home." Razzy had stared at the top of the door frame after mentioning Hip as he still felt bad about almost attacking the attractive other, but now he turned to look back at Sugar Plum. "So, I know you weren't talking to yourself just now. Who exactly is downstairs and why?" his tone became slightly threatening as his gaze darkened.

Sugar Plum's sockets widened even as his heartlights shrunk. The way Razzy had been avoiding looking at him while he talked about Hip told him exactly what had almost happened. If Hip hadn't escaped, Razzy would have been looking at his feet or had his back turned. He never realized it, but Sugar Plum had learned the tell-tale signs long ago about his brother's way of showing guilt. "Well, Hip talked to me as well, so I thought we could talk about things." He quickly threw up his hands as if warding off the protest he knew was coming.

"Oh, so since Hip said something, now we can talk about you whoring without telling me. You need him to give you permission?" Then Razzy's eyes snapped up hard. "Don't tell me you're his mate! You've been fucking that twinkle toes, haven't you!" Razzy accused, tearing up.

"NO, Razzy, listen please! Hip's mate is Teal's brother. I'm not mated to anybody yet. I want to be, but he just gave me a wake-up call 'cause I didn't realize how much I was hurting the two monsters I love more than anything." Sugar Plum was close to tearing up himself.

"Then who is downstairs? Who have you been fucking around with without telling me?" Razzy demanded.

Sugar Plum sighed and rubbed over his one shoulder. "Teal. I've been letting Teal fuck me. I don't know why, but I just, I love you both. You mean so much to me, you're so much more than a brother, Teal is more than an employer or a friend with benefits. I can't live without the two of you. You guys are my world. I'm sorry." Sugar Plum finally broke and collapsed to his knees in the doorway and started crying. He had made Teal, the strong, independent, and powerful fire elemental insecure, he'd made his younger brother, the very last of his family, have to experience jealousy and lack of control, and he had hurt them both by not being honest with them or himself. He was a horrible monster.

Razzy just stood in the center of the room staring at his brother. Sugar Plum didn't cry, he didn't do anything unattractive, he certainly couldn't break easily. Had the weight of what he'd been doing been weighing on him just as heavily and Razzy just hadn't noticed? He finally took a breath and then another. "Let's go talk to Teal then and figure out what we're gonna do. I don't like to see you upset." He stepped forward and knelt, catching Sugar's jaw and lifting his face and rubbing his skull alongside his brothers in a cat-like show of affection. "Okay?"

Sugar Plum sniffled and nodded.

Razzy smiled shallowly and nodded as well before gathering Sugar Plum into his arms and lifting him and making his way downstairs. Turning into his living room, he found Teal, back to them, looking through their porn collection stored next to the TV. He had never cared much for the bartender, just because it gave his brother a reason to not be by his side, but even he had to admit the flame had something going for him. And the ass-less chaps that showed off an amazingly well contoured blue butt only enhanced the image. Leaning back against the wall, he took a moment to admire Teal as he never allowed himself to before. He definitely saw why Sugar would pick him from a looks point of view. "So my brother apparently can't be sated by just me. He tells me you've been picking up my slack?" he opened with a comment that has half joke and half challenge. He wanted to see just what kind of person this Teal really was.

Teal whipped around, surprised. "Well, I don't think it's so much that he is less than satisfied with you, his refractory period just happens to end while he's at work and I prefer that my dancers are comfortable when they're working, so I do what I can to make sure he's always comfortable."

Razzy smiled. He had definitely wrong footed the elemental, and watching him struggle to get a handle on what to say was cute. Then the front door slammed open.

"You never give us those services!" demanded Undyne as she pointed at Teal.

"You're always wet!" he tried to excuse away starting to look worried.

"Us?" Asked Razzy catching the plural.

"Yes, us." Undyne looked behind her then grabbed Muffet and pulled her in behind her. "Us. We work at the club as well. We occasionally get a bit worked up and he," she jerks a thumb over her shoulder, "doesn't service us."

"It's different!" Teal insisted.

Undyne turned on him. "How?" she seemed more curious now. She wasn't actually angry, but she didn't want Teal making problems for the brothers as they had run this town since the monsters had been forced underground. They had only been baby bones then, but still, they shouldn't be broken up due to this flame fucking things up.

Teal looked around the room, hoping to find a way out, but everyone was looking at him expectantly. "It's different because I love Sugar Plum. I don't see you two like that!" he finally snapped.

Two of Muffet's hands went to cover her mouth as her eyes went wide, the middle set she was hugging herself with as her last set settled on her stomach.

Undyne's ear fins started going from their normal red-orange to a more coral pink and yellow. "Oh, well then. Ah…" she realized that things had just gotten the entire room to enter a stage of awkward silence. She looked over to Razzy, just to see him smirking at Teal, who was blushing a deep emerald, neon green and emerald sparks flying from his hair and the net of his shirt randomly.

Putting up one of her hands from her mouth, like she was still in school, Muffet asked, "Uh, so this is where everyone just fucks and makes up, right?"

"You two want to join us? More the merrier!" said Sugar Plum as he shoves himself from Razzy's arms and lands sitting on the back of the chaise sofa in the middle of the room with legs spread provocatively.

"Before that, Sugar, Razzy, are we going to…?" Teal led off.

Sugar just looked up to Razzy. "I'm down if you are bro."

Razzy looked at Sugar, love and adoration easy to read in his eyes. Then he looked up to Teal. "We are."

Teal just nodded.

"Where do you want to do this then?" piped up Undyne.

"How about the Bar Room?" Sugar Plum askes Razzy.

"It is the most open, it will work." He says, nodding.

Sugar Plum grins. "Then let's go. I'm horny as fuck and this sounds like it's gonna be fun." With that he bounced off the couch and started back up the stairs for the second time that morning.

Razzy stood for a second, watching him go, enjoying the view, then looked at the others, smirked, and jerked his head for them to come along. "Keep up or I'll leave ya behind." He playfully threatened and made his way up the stairs.

Teal, then Undyne, then Muffet followed and when they stepped into a room that had all sorts of leather gear along the walls and poles bolted to the floor, ceiling, and walls in all different places, as well as one wall with a full length mirror, they understood the name Bar Room.

"Kinky." Purred Muffet.

"That we are hun." Replied Sugar Plum, stripping off his black tank top, having already thrown his vest in the corner.

Teal's fishnet shirt wasn't long in following the articles on the floor, nor were the girls' jackets. Under their jackets they wore only the short skirts and breast boosting bras that were the uniform at the club for females. Everyone lost no time in losing shoes and the rest of their clothes as they realized nobody really wanted to do a strip tease at the moment. They were all too horny.

Undyne looks to Razzy, as the head of the house, "So who's fucking who and how are we doing this?"

He grinned, "Get over here and bend over." He ordered

Muffet and Teal stood to the side to watch, waiting to see how things would turn and how they could fit into the mix.

Undyne ended up facing a wall, both hands on a bar as Razzy summoned a large vibrant pink dick and without warning, lined up with her pussy and hilted himself, placing a hand on her shoulder to hold her in place and keep her from pulling away. He then leaned over to whisper in her ear. "You don't know what you've asked for dear. My last client was almost three hours ago. Let's see how long you actually last with a real fuck." He had slowly pulled out and on the last word slammed back in hard, making her gasp as he rammed her diaphragm, then she groaned and he grinned.

From behind them, Sugar Plum motioned for Teal to come give him a lift. Curious about his intention, he did as Sugar Plum asked silently.

He was definitely enjoying seeing the skeleton without the clothes hindering his vision. While his taller brother was quite the looker as well, there was just something about the smaller with his puns and play that made him all the more interesting.

Lifting Sugar Plum, the smaller skeleton grinned, then grabbed onto Razzy's fourth highest rib set, wrapped his legs around his brother's hips, resting his heels on top of Undyne's ass, and lined himself up, to fuck his brother's ass while hanging from him. It was not an easy position, with any non-skeletal monster it would not have been possible, but in this situation, it worked and damn if it didn't turn Teal on even more to see his lover pounding Razzy, who in turn was pounding the loud-mouth from the club, making her scream in ecstasy.

Getting an idea, Teal stepped away from Sugar Plum, once he was sure that he had a steady and firm grip and wouldn't fall, Teal made his way back to the front of the group and took one of Undyne's hands off the bar she was using to steady herself. She looked up inquiringly until he fit himself between both her arms and held his dick out to her mouth. "Don't bite it." He growled as he placed her hand back on the rail so he had a hand on either side of him.

She grinned, showing off her mouth full of sharp teeth, then lunged as Razzy thrust catching his dick and taking him down her throat in the first dive, just to slowly pull off while maintaining a hard suction. Working him slowly from base to tip, licking over and in the slit every time she got to the tip.

As much as he wanted to bury his hands in her hair and coax her on, he could already feel his body heat building and with her moist skin, they would end up hurting each other, so he forced himself to hold onto the bar that was bolted to the wall behind him so both hers and his hands were on it. That didn't stop him from jerking his hips forward in time with Razzy's thrusts though, helping her take him deeper with every thrust.

Undyne was never more happy for her lack of gag reflex as she took the flame's cock. He was far from small, though not as big as Razzy thankfully. When she didn't feel his hands in her hair she was confused for a minute until she started to feel the incremental increase in the heat in front of her face and inside her mouth. Even in the heart of a fucking, he was watching out for her well-being.

Once all four of them had a decent rhythm going, Teal looked over to Muffet and waved her over. She was by far, the shyest and most reserved, even if she was quite blunt.

"Do you think you could suspend yourself from one of those ceiling bars? I'll clean you're pussy if you can keep yourself seated on my shoulders." Teal offered. He knew she was no virgin, but he also knew that she liked to be eaten out more than fucked. She had admitted to as much during her interview.

At the offer, Muffet grinned, bounced, and clapped before running up the wall and securing a web to one of the bars in the ceiling and lowering herself onto the flames now very warm, though not quite burning hot, shoulders. Since his hands were busy keeping him steady, she used three of hers to get herself open for him. He grinned up to her, before burying his face in her core. The heat by itself had her moaning and bucking up into him and wrapping two more hands around his head to keep him in her as her last one held the web that kept her suspended.

Teal laved the inner lips of Muffets slit and flicked her clit rapidly with his skilled tongue, occasionally pausing to shove it deep into her core and suck even more sweet juices out of her. When he needed a breath, he'd nip at her bud, causing her to retract for just a moment before coming back for more with a vengeance.

Razzy had increased his driving pace, causing Undyne to piston between the two cocks that were buried deep within her. Teal's cock wept salty precum, coating her tongue and making her suck even harder so she could get more with each swipe at his tip. On one particular hard thrust, she nearly screamed again as Razzy found her sweet spot, the constriction of her throat making Teal erratically thrust a few times.

"Ah, there it is. I knew I'd find it." Razzy purred, then started driving even harder and faster into her, barely giving her a breath between thrusts.

Sugar Plum, having gotten tired of hanging in the position he had been, had pulled himself up so he lounged on his brother's shoulders and just enjoyed the teasing friction of Razzy's ribs on his dick.

Muffet was the first to cum, she was unused to stimulation as she normally only pulled people in and then let her minis play with them as she watched, she was quite the voyeur. She convulsed and flooded Teal's mouth, and to his credit, he took it all easily.

Once she finished, he helped her down and had Undyne let him out from between her arms. Undyne was more than happy for this change. Her neck had been getting sore anyway. Razzy was right, she wasn't going to last much longer at this rate.

Teal made sure Muffet was comfortable enough off to the side and then went to check on Sugar Plum, he couldn't help but laugh lightly at how the lazy bones was positioned. He walked up behind him and rubbed the back of his ribs and purred next to his skull, why don't you come have a seat here. It's all warmed up for you and maybe we can get your brother to fill the fish, yes?

Sugar Plum groaned at the explicit image and nodded, releasing his hold on Razzy's clavicles and drop into Teal's hold and summoned a glittering purple ass.

Teal purred, loving the feel of the cool ecto skin against his super-heated flames. He hadn't hit dangerous levels of heat as he had tempered his control quite a bit over the years. Lining himself up with Sugar Plum, he pushed in, glad that the other hadn't summoned the ecto piece before so it was still very tight. Once he was seated, Teal moved the two of them closer to Razzy and rubbing the sensive spots on his pubic bones, making him turn his head with a raised brow give an extra thrust to Undyne, who groan even louder. "Mind making something for him to fill. I think we're all a bit eager to finish.

Grinning Razzy came back, "Sure thing bud, but just so you're aware, I could go all day."

"Oh, I know it, trust me. Sugar Plum is always tired during your heats, but you have work tomorrow night and so does he." Reminded Teal.

"I'll try to remember that." Razzy responded. "I don't need him getting himself hurt because he couldn't perform properly." Even as they held this small conversation, a glittering pink lean ass covered the bones of Razzy's ass.

"I wouldn't let anything happen to him. I promise that." Swore Teal even as he helped Sugar Plum line up with Razzy.

"You guys do know I'm right here and I can take care of myself, right? Oh stars, you both feel so good." Plum groaned, one hand going down to cup Teal's hip, as if to keep him close, and another grabbing at Razzy's ribs from the back once more.

As Teal drew back, then slammed back hard, the impact drove them all forward, causing Undyne to scream as she finally broke and came hard around Razzy.

"You're paying next time sweetheart." He told her as she slumped to the floor, breathing hard and writhing in orgasmic afterglow. She just faintly nodded.

With all the males finally nearing their own respective ends, they knew they would have to mark each other soon. Teal and Sugar Plum had the same idea and both leaned forward together, Teal wrapped an arm around Razzy's chest keeping him close, where Sugar Plum and Teal could mark either side of his neck.

At first it was painful as Teal's mark burned him and seared through his marrow and right down through his very soul while Sugar's mark could be felt as his fangs punched through the vertebrae, leaving their own lasting imprint just below Teal's on the opposite side of his neck. As the pain dulled, he heard Teal groan as what Razzy himself felt was channeled through him. What he didn't see was that as the two had pulled away, Sugar Plum had turned slightly and latched hard onto Teal's nipple, biting right through the hot skin and leaving his mark there. The bit of magma that escaped thankfully caused Sugar Plum no harm, but they were all too lost in what they were feeling to even notice anyway.

Looking down, Teal grinned, he couldn't be happier as he took Sugar Plum's hand and turned it over, carefully licked where his radius and ulna met, and never letting their eyes lose contact, bit, burning his hot mark into Sugar Plum's soul and leaving a lasting burn on his wrist.

Sugar Plum couldn't suppress the whimper that escaped him as he was never one to really be able to withstand pain.

Once he was done, Teal laved his tongue over it to ease the pain and let Sugar Plum have his hand back. Standing back up straight and rolling his neck as he got ready to give another thrust as he was become quite hard and painful, he was pulled by a hand Razzy had placed on his shoulder. The taller skeleton turned his head and engaged the elemental in a full French kiss, forcefully sucking his tongue into his mouth, then placed his own mark heavily onto Teal's tongue. Teal flinched, but forced himself to not pull away until Razzy released him.

Once Razzy's magic reached Teal's soul, finalizing the mark, all their eyes went wide and they screamed in sync, going into sensory overload and cumming simultaneously as the strength of the mark magic as well as the flood of feeling coming from each of their respective partners flooded their consciousness. They promptly collapsed in a heap on the floor as they were all thrown into euphoric haze.

Undyne, having finally recovered and having realized just what it was that was going on with the three males, had to have Muffet help her to get redressed then help her as they left. The girls ended up taking the river-person to their respective homes, and he for once kept his hands to himself as they described the session they had just went through and what parts they had enjoyed the most.

Razzy was the first to recover and he could only smile as he watched the other two dozing. It was about noon now as they had fallen asleep. He disentangled himself from his two new mates and went to the bathroom, where he started up the shower so that it could warm up. Just as it was finally getting hot, Sugar Plum stumbled in.

"Mornin' bro." he mumbled.

"Good afternoon. Let's get clean. I assume Teal's still sleeping?"

"Naw, he went out back, said he'd flash burn whatever's on him then come back in and get dressed. He'll shower when he gets home he said." Sugar Plum was waking up as the warm mist reminded him just how cold he was without any clothes or Teal directly against him.

"Alright. Not like he could use our shower anyway. The water probably wouldn't be good for him." Razzy thought out loud.

Sugar nodded and climbed into the shower, followed by Razzy. Teal in the meantime came back inside shivering from his step outside naked. He was quick to rush upstairs and grab his clothes. The shirt didn't do much for warmth, but it was something. He made his way downstairs and started making food for them all. He could feel the phantom warmth the two upstairs were getting from the shower and his body was already rapidly warming back up to its normal temperature, especially with the stove going in front of him. He honestly couldn't consider himself happier.

As he was cooking, a though occurred to him. How had things turned out for Hip. He knew the kid had left early, but he didn't know if he had stayed or left their verse. He pulled out his phone and when he saw he had a message from them, he was slightly worried about the context. Amethyst had gone a rage again, the house was therefore bust, and he was pissed at Razzy. He sighed. He'd have to have a talk with everyone and hope that it would all blow over, it normally did. He tried to text back to Hip, but was told his message could not be sent. Perhaps Hip had gone back to his verse. Teal shrugged and went back to cooking.


	13. Guilt, Hurt, and Sadness

Chapter 11 – Guilt, Hurt, and Sadness

Even after hundreds of years, Asgore still found himself walking through the forests to the glade that Jester had made his home after committing his atrocious crime. He cared for the trees, kept the encroaching tallgrass at bay, and left the dead area to its own devices in the vain hope it would grow green once more. The one tainted spot where Jester had stepped inside the glade still remained dead as well, for all the attempts the King made to help it revive. He knew, deep in his soul, that his actions of obliterating the black skeleton were just as heinous as the ones committed by his victim. Just because he was the king, that did not give him the right to waltz into the monster's home and kill him.

They had two human children with them in Dreamtale currently, a set of twins who had hoped that they could escape life as it was above. As with all the other children, they were beloved, but since his murder of Jester, Asgore just couldn't feel right about being close to the children. He often thought of locking himself away, but he knew his queen, his Toriel would come looking for him and then he would have to admit to her about his actions. He just couldn't bear to see her face as she learned of his betrayal of their pacifist ways. It was a miracle that nobody had noticed his increase in LOVE. He still didn't know why his EXP hadn't gone up, but he wasn't about to ask their beloved scientist, Dings, about it. He couldn't tell anybody about this, so he just kept tending the garden in secret and slowly built a distance between him and the children as they came.

Today, though, as he was tending the garden and collecting all the fallen fruits, he noticed one of the trees had dropped their burden and it had rolled right up to the dark doorway into the small hut that had obviously been Jester's new house. Asgore had always given the abode a wide berth, staying away from the structure as if it somehow contained some remaining energy from Jester. Sighing, he shook his head and forced himself to go closer. The fear that he had always felt around Jester he could feel building as he got closer to the hut, but it wasn't as strong as it was in person. Once he got to the doorway he picked up the fruit and shook his head. There was nothing here. He knew that. He had destroyed the once living presence that had inhabited this space. With sadness, he looked into the house, then ducking his head, stepped inside. He had to face whatever was here. After how many hundreds of years, he should know just what Jester had lived like.

Upon stepping inside, he was surprised. From outside, the hut had seemed dark, but inside the light came in from three small windows positioned all around the house and kept it well lit. there was a table in the center of the floor along with what looked like a decayed pile of leaves along one wall that Asgore assumed to be the remains of what had been a nest. On the opposite side of the house from the nest were a few baskets, some shaby in their building, but quality improving after two or three. A total of ten baskets sat on the floor. All had heavily stained bottoms with the seeds of fruits remaining. All the baskets had likely been full before, before he had found Jester. As the fruits had aged and been left, they had rotted until nothing remained of them but their seeds. On the table were papers filled with notes, and stepping closer, Asgore found that the writing was surprisingly neat and easy to read. Looking over the notes, he found that some were just detailed writings of what the skeleton had done that day, like a journal or diary, while others spoke of timelines, the what-if's and how-comes of what a world could become if one or two details were taken out or added. These pages confused Asgore. Dings had spoken of such things a long time ago, before moving onto other projects. He never really finished anything, but had so many started projects nobody could keep track.

As Asgore compared these notes to what he remembered once hearing from Dings, he remembered Jester coming to him speaking about how to break the barrier and how he had brushed him off, believing the monster to know nothing at all on the subject and just spouting off to get attention like always. But that wasn't right, the skeleton didn't spout off, he didn't follow his role, he wasn't how everyone remembered him. The more the king thought, the more he realized how wrong he had been about this particular citizen. Jester hadn't been a jester at all. He was merely named that in the hopes that he would turn his self into something he was not.

It was then that Asgore remembered a fragment of their last conversation. He had called Jester a nightmare. That was a name that aptly fit what Jester had always been, and he had even accepted it and agreed that it was much more fitting. If his real name was Nightmare though, that meant that even though he wasn't happy-go-lucky like the rest of the citizens, he still belonged here. King Asgore was hit once more with the true weight of how much he had messed up. Perhaps he should speak to somebody about this. Perhaps Dings was the best one to consult on the matter after all. Making his way out of the small hut with papers in paw, he grabbed the few baskets he had filled and started to make his way back home. Dropping his baskets off with the chef with a forced smile and a wave, he followed the cobbled path around his great keep to the observatory that had been built to watch the crystal formations as they changed. Dings claimed that it helped him relax to watch them.

Feeling great trepidation at what he was about to do, he took a deep breath before forcing himself to knock upon the door.

"Come in." Hollered a voice somewhere between medium and high pitched, just a bit too high to be proper for a scholar. This was followed by a heavy crash just as Asgore pushed open the door, allowing a cloud of light brown dust to billow out.

Even with his ill feelings, Asgore couldn't hold back a small chuckle at his scientist's antics. "Calm down Dings, it's just me old friend."

"Oh hey Azzy, what's up?" He asked, trying and failing to clean the dust off his battered coat and keep his extra hands from acting up as they flew around the room cleaning and making more of a mess at the same time as they occasionally pegged each other with random objects. It was no wonder nothing got done here.

Taking a deep sighing breath, Asgore told him, "I found something while I was out in the forest a while back, and just today, I found some more stuff of interest. I could use a friendly ear to listen if you can spare some time?"

Instantly two of the hands zipped back to Dings, cupping beside his head to look like ears, a comic appearance on the skeletal creature. "I'm all ears. Don't _leaf_ me hangin'." He joked.

"Can you be serious please? This isn't a joking matter." The king said rather annoyed as he remembered that of course the scientist had always had a knack for turning everything into a joke and better version. Murder was no joke though and he was starting to regret his choice to speak to the scientist first.

The hands at the side of Dings' head dropped and floated away dejectedly. Dings watched them go then turned to Asgore. "Now why'd you have to go and ruin their fun. We don't get many visitors here you know. It wouldn't hurt to play along. They are a lot like children, even if people don't realize it just because they look like hands."

"Dings, this is serious, and if they are like children, then what I have to say they definitely shouldn't hear." He insisted.

Dings finally started to look a bit worried for his friend and held out his hands in a placating gesture. "Alright, just give me a moment please." Giving a shrill whistle, he called all the constructs back to him and directed them to a hidden room behind a shelf that Asgore hadn't even known existed. "Now what is going on that is so bad that you can't bring it up around my little constructs?" Dings asks, surprisingly coming down to a no nonsense attitude.

Asgore was quite surprised by the sudden change. Taking a hard swallow and clearing his voice, he coughed and then began his tale. Once he started, he found that he couldn't stop and ended up spilling everything, every last word exchanged, his guilt, how he had shown no remorse, and how he had told nobody all this time. He finished by telling about how that very afternoon he had seen the inside of the house and had been brought down to earth with his revelations on the injustices they had put Nightmare through, as he had come to accept him to truly be named such. At some point he had slumped to sit on a pile of books even as Dings himself perched himself upon one of the desks that had a bit of clear space. When he finished his tale, he remained quiet, sobbing in silence as he waited for his trusted friend to absorb all he had told him.

It took a long while for Dings to fully put the pieces together. He had seen and felt the dark skeleton lurking around his lab many times, but had let the lad do as he pleased because although he feared him, he also felt bad for the obviously lonely skeleton. To hear that he had come to terms apparently with his solitary existence and had actually be able to make it as any other normal monster just pushed his belief that he really was normal, just different. Finally he did the one thing that he had never done in his life. He checked the LOVE and EXP of his friend just to verify his story and found that he had not been lying when he had said his LOVE had gone up but left his EXP untouched which did not match what had been witnessed. That made him wonder on a detail that Asgore had not mentioned.

"Friend, tell me something. You say you have tended that grove for the entire time since you attacked Jes- er, Nightmare. Did you ever find his Dust?"

Asgore only shook his head sadly.

"Then I have some news that may make you feel a bit better about this whole situation, if only a smidge. I don't believe you killed the boy. He had a special ability that I don't think anybody really knew about. Perhaps his brothers might, and I only know because I caught him at it when he didn't know I was around. Did you per chance see a distortion in the air before you send your attack at him?" asked Dings carefully.

"I don't remember. It was so long ago. I don't remember seeing anything that stuck out and I haven't seen any sign of him since then. What proof is there that he survived? How could he have survived? He only had on HP, just like his twin, Mi'Lord." Asgore was not sure if he should be hopeful or angry about the debate that had come up. He didn't know what he had expected, but to be told that the murder he had committed had not happened was not it.

"Well, you see your majesty, Nightmare had the unique ability to step through space. It is my belief that he may have tried to do that even as you released your own magic and the combination of your magics resulted in his being more powerful than normal and put him farther away than anticipated. He likely finally found his way to the surface like he always dreamed. He is probably much happier wherever he is now. Trust me. I'm sure of it. If you had killed him, I can assure you that your EXP would have gone up." At this Dings looked away. "I've made my own mistakes in my years. You can trust me when I say that had you had a part in his death, you would definitely have the marks to prove it. Even if he did die at some point in the time from then to now, it would not be on you."

The last almost whispered statement made Asgore look up surprised and he found himself checking the levels of his friend in disbelief. Sure enough, his EXP was higher than Asgore could imagine, but his LOVE was almost nonexistent. "How, how is that even possible? To have so much of one, but none of the other?" The king asked dumbfounded.

Dings visibly flinched. "I was the one to help many mothers try to bring in new young after we were first forced underground. We did not have the necessary training to safely make sure the young survived. As the one helping with births, a process I will admit little knowledge of, many were lost due to inexperience. I did not necessarily try to harm or kill them, but they died by me in the end. It is why I do not get many visitors your majesty. The townsfolk remember the loss of their young too well. Also, by making my constructs, it spreads my magic is makes the weight of my sins lighter and less noticeable to others. It is because of my experience though that I know that you did not kill or cause the death of Nightmare. You can rest assured of that."

"What should I tell Mi'Lord? He deserves to know his twin's fate, doesn't he?"

Dings only shook his head. "What would you tell him? We don't know what happened. He could be in the above, or he could be somewhere below. He may not even be in this world anymore. It would be best to let Mi'Lord remain in the mind that his brother is still living his outcast life. It would be best for the whole kingdom."

While he knew the scientist's words where true, he couldn't help but feel guilty at his relief of knowing that he didn't have death on his hands, only a more permanent exile and that he wouldn't have to explain that he had attacked Mi'Lord's brother unprovoked. "Thank you Dings. Would you like his studies? He wrote some stuff down while he was out there that I can't really make sense of, but you may. As I mentioned before, he was quite smart."

"Oh, just put it on a pile somewhere. I'll get to it eventually." Dings gestured dismissively even as the bookcase shifted and one of the hands squeezed its way out. "Was that everything Sire?"

"Yes, Thank you very much Dings. I feel much better. Do you mind if I come back to talk to occasionally about this? It has bothered me for some time and it likely will continue to for some time."

"I am here for you always, my friend." Dings gave a shallow smile.

Asgore nodded, left the papers atop one of the stacks of books and took his leave feeling a bit lighter knowing that he was not a murderer. He could be close to the children. He was a good King. Smiling a true smile for the first time in many many years, he whistled as he made his way back to his queen and swept her and the twin children into a great furry hug making them all laugh.

And so, just as things have always done, they went back to the way they had always been, though the King and the Scientist talked more and the King's walks out to the forest became many fewer as years went on and he got over his guilt. Soon it was no more than a faint memory.

Note from the Author:

This chapter was a request from a reviewer. I'll admit it was very had to write, I hate how it finished, but there it is. This was not a universe I planned on coming back to. I may yet end up visiting it again in the distant future, but not too soon I hope. The next two chapters will likely be in alchemytale and either underfell or horrortale(another au I didn't want to touch but it just may work) Sorry it's short, and very very sorry for the delay on this and my other story. What a writer's block. Enjoy and review please!


	14. Messes and Clean Up

Chapter 12 – Messes and Cleaning Up

"So let me get this straight." Daederath slowly said as she finished processing everything Nightmare had told her and Blaster. "You come from some alternate universe that is like a messed up reflection of our own. You got knocked out of yours and into some sort of in-between space when you were hit with a magic attack while trying to use a bit of your own magic, and now, you just jumped into our world as easy as if you walked down the street? And on top of it, you don't know of any way to get back or prove any of this? Do I have this all correct?" she was reasonably skeptical of the story he had provided.

"Yes, that all sounds about right. I've watched enough from the other universes that I believe that we should be able to create our own portal to link into their network, and that, I believe, should prove as enough proof that my story is true." Nightmare just shrugged.

"Well, you probably aren't gonna want Blaster here to be your only help on that. I don't know what it is about him, but, well, to be honest" she turned to Blaster and shrugged, "sorry, you are accident prone. Practically an accident magnet."

Blaster gave a short laugh. "That is true enough. On top of that, I'm not going to be much use until I can figure out how to walk again and I'm not even sure how useful these hands will be for finer working." He tried closing his hand into a fist and the claw tips went between his metacarpals and poked out the other side slightly. He grimaced.

Daederath gave a short chuckle. "I taught you how to walk before, I can do it again."

Nightmare choked on an olive as he ended up laughing with a mouth full of pizza and Blaster buried his face in his hands groaning. Dae's grin was not at all encouraging, but rather more entertaining for Nightmare and kept him laughing. The others shivered slightly with the sound, but were slowly getting used to the strange sounds he made.

"This will give us time to work on your miasma as well. We'll take down three problems at once." She thumped a fist in her hand. "I'm gonna guess that in the mean time you two will likely be staying together though."

Blaster looked at Nightmare, who had calmed down again, though his tentacles still twitched a bit and nodded. "It's probably best for us to stay together. We don't want him getting into more trouble while he gets used to his new feet." Nightmare sniggered.

"Hey, that's not fair!" yelled Blaster which just sent Nightmare into another fit of giggles and had even Daederath chuckling.

"He's right though. You're not going anywhere at the moment." She snorted and Nightmare had to hold his ribs.

Blaster debated between folding his arms and just grabbing another slice of pizza. He decided on grabbing the last slice of salami pizza and stuffing his mouth.

For the remainder of the day they went over what they would need to build the portal and Nightmare started drawing out blueprints while Blaster looked over what he finished and corrected math problems and asked questions on variables that otherwise made no sense in the workings. Since there wasn't really anything for her to do and Blaster was unlike to blow something up just by looking at papers, Daederath went out to look for supplies.

When dinner came around, the boys were still working at the blueprints without any sign of recognizing the passage of time. Daederath had been in that spot before and knew that unless they were otherwise distracted, they would continue without food, drink, or sleep until they finished, which could be a while at this point. Shaking her head with a smile, she shed her jacket and hung it by the door and rolling up her sleeves, headed for the kitchen to start making a half-decent meal for them. An hour later she walked in with two plates of some _thing_ and when the two on the couch didn't even look up she huffed and thumped the plates right on top of their work. "Take a break and eat. I made it special for you and got what materials I could find from your list. The rest we'll have to make do with something else. Now eat!"

Both skeleton's looked at the food that had just been shoved in front of them and realized how deep in their work they must have been to not have caught the scent of cooking that had filled the house. "Thanks Dae." Mumbled Blaster. They reached for their food and placed it in their laps. Nightmare immediately started using his tentacles to feed himself so he could have his hands free and keep working. Blaster quickly realized that long claws were not adept at handling utensils. "Great, another thing to add to the list of things I can't do." He grumbled under his breath and gave up with the tool, resorting to using his hands as best he could to scoop up the noodle like mash and eat it that way. It was messy, but at least he was eating.

Coming back into the room with her own plate, Daederath couldn't help laugh as she saw blaster's hands covered in food and Nightmare still working even as he ate. 'He may not be from here, but he sure works like it' she thought. To Blaster she commented, "Lost the fight with the utensil's again?" picking from when he had been a babybones and hadn't had great motor control. He had always fumbled with instruments and tools, be they forks and spoons or pliers.

"I'm not answering that." He grumbed with a mouthful.

At their banter, Nightmare looked up and stared at Blaster as he swallowed. "You are a mess. Don't touch anything until you are done please. We will definitely have to work on your, ah, skills, after we finish for the night."

Since his mouth was full again, Blaster just gave a thumbs up with two mash covered fingers.

Nightmare shivered bodily in disgust, almost dropping his plate. The other two immediately scrubbed at their arms as they felt a slimy cold feeling run over them. In Blaster's case, it just led to making more of a mess. The paper under Nightmare's one hand also started to curl and yellow. He immediately yanked his hand away confused.

Daederath was the first to catch onto what was happening. "Uh, Nightmare. Why don't you take a break." She set her own plate aside. "Maybe we can get some more of the rubble cleaned out from Blaster's lab. You can show me where the portal is supposed to be set up as well."

"Uh, sure." He clenched his hands a few times, trying to understand why the paper had started aging like that. It reminded him of the dead thicket behind his old house and that one spot that had died when he had talked to King Asgore. Why were things withering around him?

Having already finished his meal, he set aside his plate and still in thought made his way over to the door and slipped on his shoes and stepped out into the lab and started moving larger chunks that he didn't figure the fish woman would be able to handle.

Once he was gone, the slimy chilled feeling disappeared from the pair inside and they looked at each other. "I think it is safe to say his magic is linked to his emotions." Blaster finally whispered, as if speaking any louder would bring back the sickly feeling.

"And I think it's safe to say that having contact with him while he's emotional could be hazardous for our health. I mean, look at your couch." She motioned with her chin to where Nightmare had been before. The normally yellow threads had blackened, as if burnt, and right where the strange appendages sprouted behind him, where they would have direct contact with the couch, the cloth was gone completely, leaving just the metal frame, which now also showed signs of rusting slightly.

"This is going to be one heck of a learning game for us all." Sighed Blaster as he flexed his food covered hands again. It felt nasty to have them covered like this, but he needed to eat. Looking at his plate, he was almost relieved to see it was empty, which meant he could get cleaned up. Looking around him though, he realized that even if he managed to crawl, he wouldn't be able to move without messing up the papers surrounding him.

Daederath sighed and walked around the couch and plucked him up from behind, lifting him up over the back of it and carrying him to the bathroom. "Think you can manage this part?" she asked seriously.

Blushing a deep blue, which illuminated very pale yellow freckles on his cheekbones, he nodded. "Could you grab me a change of clothes from my room please?"

She smiled and nodded. It was rare to see him blush like that and it was adorable. It reminded her of when he had been very young. After dropping his clothes off for him, she put on her jacket and headed out for the lab. Upon stepping out into the ruined place, she realized just how bad the explosion must have been and couldn't see Nightmare anywhere. She started looking around, taking in the full extent of the damage. Most of the roof had fallen in and a good portion of all the walls had been obliterated. The lab didn't really exist anymore. It was more of a patio that was slightly walled-in in spots.

"Everything okay? You took a while to come out." She heard Nightmare call from behind her, making her jump.

Turning, she smiled and waved. "Yeah, I was just getting him into the bath. We're all cool. This place is totally trashed though. Might as well just finish knocking the walls down at this point and rebuild, huh." She joked.

"I can do that." Nightmare shrugged and summoned two black blasters above his shoulders.

"HOLY STARS!" Daederath shrieked and stepped back, promptly falling off the stairs and into a pile of rubble next to them loosing another yell, this time in pain.

At her shriek, Nightmare immediately dismissed the blasters and using his tentacles, propelled himself over to her. "You okay?"

"By Flamel's work, what were those?" she demanded as she pushed herself up from the rubble and looked around for the conjurations.

"They're a defensive magic that I've always had. The work for offensive magic as well though. I used them earlier to break up some rubble to get to Blaster and he took it alright. He can summon them too. He was actually experimenting on his when this explosion happened and by the time I reached him he was as he is now." He explained.

"What do they do?" she asked as the more scientific part of her emerged and pushed her fear to the side.

Huffing a laugh that sounded more like he was being strangled, Nightmare explained. "Well, other than looking intimidating, they are able to release powerful beams of magic that are very destructive. I figured they'd be the perfect thing for taking out the walls quickly."

"And you're saying Blaster, our Blaster, has something that volatile at his disposal. The boy who literally blows up everything has a floaty head thingy that fires destructive blasts." Nightmare just nods. "What do you even call them?"

Nightmare shrugs. "I just call them blasters. A few of the other verses call the Gaster Blasters, and still others haven't even found the ability to use them yet."

"Oh lovely. Well, for now let's just hold off on anymore blasting and just work on cleaning up the mess we already have." She said gesturing around at the piles of debris.

"Okay, I've already put the majority of the big stuff outside. I didn't know where there was a dust pan or anything, so I started stacking the stones and creating a sort of lean-to for where the portal is going to need to be. We could probably use some of the smaller debris to fill in holes and make it sturdier. I figure we might as well use what we have rather than toss it and look for new."

"Alright, let's see it and we'll see where we go from there." She starts to navigate her way around the rock piles and in some cases goes right over them if they look solid enough, only falling a few times while Nightmare vaults over everything again back to the door. "Show off." She pokes at him. He laughs and sticks out a black tongue that is sparking blue before making his way around toward the backyard.

Slightly shocked by the strange sight of his tongue she follows and is completely floored when she sees the mammoth tunnel like structure before her. Open on both sides, the ceiling is high enough to pass over her head by several feet and she couldn't touch both sides even if she laid down and reached with her arms and toes. "Just how big is this portal thing!"

"It's big enough to allow monsters passage, but I made the shelter a bit bigger due to what I was working with and so that we will have shelter from the weather if it gets nastier out here. I didn't get to see the first two actually be built, but I don't see how they could have built it out in all this wet. Once theirs was built though, it opened up entryways into a bunch of the surrounding universes. I assume if we build one, it should link to theirs and open up passages to the worlds around and between us and them."

"That's a lot of theory and assuming, don't you think?" she asked skeptically, as she continued to inspect the shelter. "And how did you even manage to lift these. Are those tentacles on your back really that strong?"

"You've trusted me this long haven't you? Feel free to take our work home with you and look it over. I think you'll find that most of it makes sense and matches up to the descriptions I've provided. As for my secondary limbs, yeah, they are much stronger than I am by myself. But what do you think?"

"I think that this is absolutely crazy and you are unlike anything I've ever come across, but you pose too many new theories and questions to turn over to the guards and let someone else have the credit of what you have to share. Also, you apparently helped my friend in there, so you can't be too terrible. I can't wait to see where all this goes." She stared at him the entire time.

"I was just asking about the lean-to, but that works too. Thanks, I guess, for not turning me over to the authorities." He was slightly swamped by her straight-forwardness.

"Oh, yeah, this will definitely need shoring up. The rubble inside along with some water and paste and she'll hold alright. Good job. On another note, we should probably head back in. It is getting late and I need to get home and study those papers and check on my own work." As she turned back to the house she suddenly remembered, "Oh shit! I left Blaster in the bath alone!" and took off, climbing and sliding her way across the lab to get inside.

Nightmare choked out a laugh. He had done all the work, but it had helped calm him down. Perhaps once Daederath left he and Blaster could work on Blaster's walking so that he could at least get around. He also wanted to ask Blaster about what may have caused that weird effect on the paper he had been working on. He still couldn't figure it out. When he walked into the living room he noticed two things, Blaster assuring Daederath that he was fine and not to worry, he had managed just fine and the couch had a hole in it where he had been sitting.

"Uh, how'd that get there?" he asked, interrupting their bickering and pointing to the hole.

They shared a glace and then both looked back at him. "We think that when your emotions become heightened, the miasma around you may actually physically affect your surroundings. In this case, it ate his couch and aged that paper." She nodded to the discolored paper in one of the stacks that had been made on the table.

"Just great." Nightmare sighed as his tentacles subconsciously wrapped around him in a hug-like formation. "Well, I'm going to go grab a shower if that is okay by you" he looked at Blaster, or just nodded and made a shooing motion, "and we'll see what we do after that."

"Well, I'm going to take these and head home. I'll try to look over as much as I can without staying up to too late. Don't you two stay up too late chattering either."

"Yes, mom." Teased Blaster to which Daederath lightly knocked on of the points on his head. "Wah! That felt weird!" he immediately put his hands over both the strange new curves, covering them from further attack.

She grinned, "Noted. Anywho, good night. See you two tomorrow." With that she picked up the notes, carefully put them in an envelope that she pulled off a shelf full of them and let herself out. Sometime during her and Blaster's picking, Nightmare had run off, presumably to get a shower.

About half an hour later Nightmare came down to find Blaster passed out on the couch and so he made himself comfortable on the floor, stealing pillows from the recliner, and a few from the couch to make himself a small nest. It had been a long day and he was ready for some rest. Thankfully it was not long in coming.


	15. What is Consent

Chapter 13 – What is Consent?

Echotale Frysk and Spikes (Underfell Gaster)

Just to catch you all up, this is leading off of chapter 6, a bit late, I know, with so many characters to follow, I end up taking a bit to get around to some of them, but here it is. I'll give a little summary so yal are caught up. Back in chapter six, Frysk took Frisk to the club and Frisk got drunk. Spikes showed up and was supposed to meet with Gaster about something or other with the portals. Gaster had to leave and take Frisk home, so Spikes walked off with Frysk in tow. Nobody in the comments has said anything about these two, but let me just say that if it wasn't obvious in the chapter, Spikes is a very dominant and controlling monster with little to no mercy and sees most humans as little more than pets. Frysk is dominant in her own right, but knows that she can't compare to Spikes and definitely has attraction to him. They are currently an unofficial couple. This is what happened with them after they left the club. Hard to believe that less than twenty-four hours has passed since this story started up to current time. Well, onto the story!

Okay, one more thing if the above summary didn't make it clear, THIS WILL BE A SMUT CHAPTER! THERE ARE NONCONSENTUAL PARTS TO THIS AND A NEAR RAPE SCENARIO AS WELL AS SOME GORE, ASSOCIATED AND UNASSOCIATED WITH THE SEX. THIS IS NOT A YAOI CHAPTER, FEMALE X MALE.

Frysk kept trying to look over her shoulder, worried about Frisk. She knew that Gaster could care for her, especially with Papyrus back home to help, but still, it was her fault that she had ended up like that. The heavy hand on her shoulder steering her through the crowd though was not very relenting and if she slowed at all the sharp claws that tipped its fingers dug into her keeping her on track for the door. The crowd didn't do anything to hinder them, the power radiating off of either one was enough to keep humans and monsters alike at a distance. They finally got to the door and Spikes reached around her to shove it open while still keeping her ahead of him and guide her out. She stumbled as her foot hit a rock buried under the snow and once again felt his claws as they grabbed her arm and pulled her upright roughly. "Yo, watch it." She finally ripped her arm from his grasp and turned to look at him. The door fell shut cutting off the sound from the club. "What the fuck. I just wanted to make sure she was okay. Is that too much to ask? And who do you think you are to just go and drag me outta the club?" she knew she was attracting attention but she really didn't care. There wasn't anyone here that could or would bother the two of them.

Before she could continue berating him though, Spikes shoved her against the frozen concrete hard and kissed her, making her gasp. He shoved his tongue into her mouth, not giving her a chance to recover and caught both her hands, pulling them together above her head to hold in one hand and then used his free hand to keep her middle body from struggling, slightly digging his claws into the muscles in her back that was left open with her crop top shirt. With her unable to move or escape, he ground himself forward.

Still angry with his earlier actions, Frysk wanted none of his playing and bit down hard on his tongue, making him pull back fast with a growl. His eyes glowed a dangerous red as he stared down at her. "You are my bitch. You will do whatever I damn well want you to." He growled and bent to sink his fangs into the curve of her neck. Even with his claws buried in her back, she still managed to buck and try to pull away.

"No, you are not doing this to me. Not here and not now. I will be yours, but not out here dammit. Let me go you fucking bastard!" wriggling as much as she could, she finally lifted one of her booted feet and kicked him in the groin, forcing him to take a couple steps back and release her. She put a hand over her bleeding neck even as he licked his teeth clean. "I'm not some common whore for you to tear apart on the street. You want to actually have me then you are gonna have to follow some rules pal. Otherwise you can go find your kicks somewhere else with someone else." She spat while hugging her chest. She knew exactly how far he would go if she didn't get through to him. While she was still mad, she knew that it was mostly with herself and also knew that he had no time for self-pity.

"And I suppose you are going to be the one to impose these rule on me. Is that right?" he sneered taking a step closer, voice deeper than it had been in the club. She could practically see the red aura steaming off of him.

"Damn straight." She growled, but it had much less venom than she intended and ended up be slightly breathy. Why did he always affect her like this!

He leaned both hands on the wall, caging her where she stood, still against the wall. "Let's hear what these supposed rules are to be then, why don't we." His rolling growl sent a shiver up her spine and she could feel his breath move strands of her hair.

She reached out and placed a firm hand on his sternum, stopping him from coming any closer than he already was. "For one, I go where I want, when I want. I'm not some fucking pet like that brat your brother has." He growled his disapproval, but said nothing against it. "Second, you can only fuck me behind closed doors. I ain't stripping for the universe to see, and definitely not outside. Got it?" she had managed to keep her voice steady and hard even though she could feel how he shuddered at her own closeness. They both wanted and needed each other in a way that neither could explain.

It took a few seconds, but he finally shoved away from the wall and snarled "Fine." Stepping away from her, giving her space. Before he could take a second step though, the hand she'd had on his sternum to keep him from coming closer bunched in his heavy jacket and yanked him forward as her other arm swung up over his neck to drag him down to her level so she could kiss him firmly. He took this as permission and had her against the wall within seconds once more in the same position as before. She opened her mouth in invitation, but he only ghosted over her lips, instead going to suckle at the almost clotted bite on her neck, quickly removing the forming scabs with his tongue and teeth to pull more of her hot blood over his tongue. Even as it hurt, she couldn't help moaning and bucking into him.

"Spikes, let's go somewhere else, please. I need you." She gasped, trying not to sound like she was begging and failing miserably.

He pulled away from her neck and released her hands at the same time, causing her to almost fall to her knees from the stimuli so far. Putting a hand to the wall by her side, she steadied herself until his hand wrapped around her throat and proceeded to drag her across the town. She had no choice but to follow or lose her life in his claws. This time she wasn't complaining.

They stepped through the portal and entered Underfell just after Echo and Fell had left, their shoe prints still clear in the snow. The pair didn't care about that though. Spikes threw Frysk against the high chain fence that surrounded their yard then walked up to her as she collected her balance. About to yell at him for his roughness, his claws dug distractingly under her jaw lifting her face to meet his. He bit her lip, drawing blood once more and delved his tongue into her mouth, catching the welling blood from her lip and sharing the flavor of her blood with her as he kissed her deep and pinned her to the fence, rutting against her for a few more seconds. While her hands weren't restrained, she grabbed his iliac arches through his pants and pulled him even more flush against her, groaning.

He growled and broke away, not giving her what she desperately desired. Looking deep into her lust blown eyes, he could almost see the physical manifestation of her soul's lust as she gazed back at him. He admired the bloody marks along her neck and how her lips still slightly bled from the multiple attacks against them. He watched as her chest rose and fell as she fought to regain her breath. "If I weren't already in Hell, I certainly would be headed there for what I'm about to do to you. Let's go before I break your rules again." He growled, appreciating the way she shivered as he spoke and licked her lips in apprehension. He could smell the lust rolling off her.

She nodded and turned to make her way out of the enclosed yard. She could feel his overwhelming presence behind her and it turned her on that she could have someone so terrifyingly dangerous at her back and know that they wouldn't intentionally harm her in any way that she wouldn't survive. Halfway down the length of the house he strode ahead of her and rounded the corner and headed in. she knew he wouldn't walk with her, but he likely would make wherever they ended up more accommodating for the sex and torture that was about to ensue. She couldn't help but huff a laugh. He was dominating, possessive, and aggressive, but he was also quietly caring and maybe sensitive or he wouldn't have listened to her requests. There was also the fact that Echo went through so much trouble to keep her from being tortured by Asgore and here she was looking for that treatment, but it a much different atmosphere. Maybe there was something wrong with her, but she really didn't care right now.

As she rounded the corner of the porch, she was bowled over by something huge, heavy, and heated. Immediately she started try to fight, once more cursing herself for leaving all her weapons in Undertale. How could she be such a fool?

"What's a morsel like you doing around here? And how did you get past our patrols?" the voice was guttural and deep, not like Spikes, it was much wetter.

She felt a large area of pressure push down on her back as she flailed. Under the snow, one of her hands came across a loose stone, which she grabbed and slammed behind her, against whatever was holding her down. The pressure let up, and whatever had her snarled. Rolling over she found herself face to muzzle with one of the Underfell doggi clan patrol. She somehow managed to scramble to her feet, rock still in hand and back to the corner formed by the porch and railed steps. "I'm with Spikes. Back off mutt." She snapped, glaring at it. On all fours it easily stood shoulder height to her, she knew these mutts could go from quadruped to bipedal quite easily and take minimal loss in doing so. If he went bipedal, she would almost certainly lose.

"And what would _he_ want with a piece of shit like you. You're nothing but a worthless human." It growled.

"He seems to think differently." She snapped.

Without warning the dog lunged and rammed his head into her chest, knocking all her breath out in a whoosh. The contact also happened to make the house shudder, brining Spikes and Boss out to see what was going on.

Boss, without knowing what was going shrugged and looked over to his elder brother. He was surprised to find Spikes had actually summoned his magic, a rare occurrence. Razor clawed hands floated around him sheathed in an aura of blood red haze. "Did she not say that she was with me you mangy fleabag." He growled.

"When have you ever had an interest in humans? And anyway, all humans belong to the king. You know that." The dog growled, throwing the breathless girl over his shoulder.

"Wrong, only humans of this universe belong to the king unless another monster claims them first. She is not of this verse and she is mine. Now answer me, did she or did she not say she was with me?" Spikes impatiently demanded.

"Sure she did, but she's human. She's going to the king and that's…" the dog didn't get a chance to finish as the summoned hands ran through it over and over, removing organs and tearing it to pieces in such a way that it survived until Spikes had had his fill. Finally, he fell to a pile of Dust, Frysk following and having just got her breath back, got a lung full and consequently ended up hacking to get it out.

"Stupid mutt." Muttered Boss, turning to go back inside. What his older brother did was none of his business, but he knew better than to interfere with what he claimed.

Spikes walked over to Frysk and grabbed her arm, yanking her up to her feet. "We still doing this." It sounded like a statement, but she caught the hint of a questioning inflection at the end. Still trying to clear her lungs, she nodded.

"Just need some water. Never realized how bad Dust tastes until now." She rasped.

"Heh, yeah, definitely not the best thing to eat."

He guided her, albeit a bit roughly into the house to get a drink then once she was able to breathe properly, up to his chamber in the upstairs. With a sharp shove, she tripped over her feet and fell face first in a deep bed. She started to try and push herself up and flip over only to feel his hand spread over her bare back shoving her down and keeping her in place. "Stay like that for now." He growled. When she didn't push against his hand, he pulled it away and she could hear the shifting of cloth indicating that he was likely shedding some of what he wore.

"Spikes?" She could hear the waver in her voice as she realized just what kind of position she had allowed herself to get into. She heard his deep hum as he acknowledged that he was listening. Swallowing down her fear and pushing aside her lust for a second, she took a breath and voiced her concerns. "I just wanted to ask how far you are planning to go? I mean, I'm fine with continuing and all, but, I don't know. Would you be against there being something or someway for me to tell you if you absolutely must stop? I want you to continue to hurt me like you've been doing." She remembered his words from when they stepped through the portal. Worse was obviously coming. "I just want to make sure that I survive and we don't know each other's boundaries yet." She dared not move as he had told her that he wanted her to stay as she was, but she so wanted to see his face and know what he looked like. Did he think she was weak because of this?

Sighing he slumped. Of course she would be worried. What proof had he given her that he needed her alive. All he had done so far was hurt her, though she did seem to enjoy it most of the time. She made a good point on that they didn't know how far they could push each other and the point of this was not to break the other as he normally did when he tortured. This was not like his normal torture subjects though, this was for mutual pleasure as well. "Very well. Pick a word, one you won't use on accident. Tell it to me and then if you need me to truly stop, I will. Otherwise you are mine. I have never been in this situation where another had a say, so I want it to be something that I can repeat with you. That won't happen if you break I suppose and I don't rape people so I need to know if you really don't want me to continue." This was the most he had ever spoken to her at one time and while his normal growl could still be heard, it lacked its heavy menace that was normally heard.

Amazed that she had actually gotten him to agree, she started trying to think on what her word should be. The first words through her mind were swears, but she knew that she would end up saying those in what was to come. Then she remembered something that had absolutely nothing to do with anything, and yet to do with everything. The Greek letters alpha, betta, and omega. She remembered their other common uses as one who leads, one who is second to lead, and one who is nothing. Both her and Spikes were alphas, the thought made her smile as she realized she was also his betta. One thing neither of them were was an omega though. That would be her word. "Omega. If I really need you to stop, I'll say omega."

"You certain you'll be able to remember and handle it?" he pressed.

"With what is about to happen, I am not certain of anything, but I believe that for now it will work." She said as she stared hard at the black satin duvet directly in front of her nose.

Although she couldn't see it, he nodded. While she had lain in that position he had stripped his long overcoat off and hung it carefully on the back of his door, making sure the lines of the heavy leather folded just right on the hanger. He had also pulled off the black t-shirt. Without the two of them, he felt slightly naked, and he supposed he was, but he needed to distract himself, glancing over to Frysk, still bent over his bed, he couldn't stop the rising desire he felt as he watched her body shift as she breathed and the wide band of olive skin that was visible on her back did nothing to ease it either. The leggings she wore under her shorts unfortunately covered her legs, but they would be gone soon enough. Taking his time as he admired her slim, fit form, he carefully undid his combat boots and slid them off, followed by his heavy black socks. They would only get in the way later. He saw the zippers on hers, so he wasn't too worried about when time came for her to lose them. Without the boots or socks, his steps could be heard on the hardwood when each of the bones in his feet clicked against it and the sound almost seemed to echo in the silence, increasing the anticipation.

Stopping directly behind her, he saw her stop breathing as she waited for anything to happen. He carefully dragged his claws down where her skin was bare, watching her take in a deep breath and her stomach tighten. There was no pressure applied, not even red marks to show he had done anything, but the attention obviously had an effect. When he got to her waistband, he continued over top of the shorts only to grab two handfuls of tight ass. They both groaned, him in delight at finally getting to feel her up without having to restrain himself, and her from the pleasure and mystery of not knowing. Slowly pushing his hands back up her back, he put a little more pressure, not on his claws this time, but the flat, long tips of his phalanges. When he reach her shirt, he continued up her back underneath it, hitching it up slightly when it caught on his wrists. He could hear her breath hitch and feel under his hands the distortion of her skin as he slid over her flesh covered ribs and scapula.

She reacted more, he found, when he grazed and touched areas where the muscle was heavy and thick or where her bones seemed closer to the skin. Maybe that was why she enjoyed his bites so much he considered. Her neck was very heavily muscled.

Glancing up toward her neck, he noticed her shoulders were bare, her shawl had fallen when he had shoved her and it lay to the side of the bed. Curling his fingers, he dug his claws in and raked them down harshly. Her back arched hard in response, almost like she was running, but with the bed under her, she had nowhere to go. Her scream had been muffled somehow, but he had heard it. She still said nothing, so he continued.

He had drawn heavy bloody lines down her back by doing that and the mauling looked beautiful, even as it started to bleed through her shirt. Wrapping his hands around her curves, he dug his thumbs into the slices, forcing his claws deeper and pulled himself flush up against her and leaned over till his ribs were flush to her back. He nuzzled his nasal ridge against her neck. This close he could clearly hear her whimpers, which only made him harder and encouraged him more. Giving an involuntary thrust, he dry humped her and growled before turning and buried his fangs deep in her shoulder. This time her cry wasn't nearly as muffled as she screamed and he kept applying more pressure with his jaw, causing the wound to bleed even more and around his thumbs he could feel how her blood flowed as they too dug deeper as she struggled. The heavy iron taste of her blood was extremely satisfying he decided and it flooded his mouth to the point it seeped back out his teeth in spots as he couldn't swallow fast enough. Finally releasing her shoulder, he swallowed the load in his mouth and watched as the blood continued to seem from her shoulder. He could see where his magic mixed with it in spots from the saliva that came from his tongue.

He released her sides as well, pulling his thumbs from her back. They had sunk just past the first digit when he had leaned on them. Deciding to move things along a bit, he ordered, "Flip over." His growl was back, but this time from arousal.

Carefully, due to the heavy damage to her back, Frysk maneuvered herself onto her back, clenching her teeth against the throbbing pain as the satin tried to stick to the gashes and she felt the wet cloth on her skin.

Spikes went to remove her shirts, the crop tank and shredded stripped t-shirt, but hesitated when he saw her face and felt under them nothing but flesh. "You haven't said it, but do you want me to continue? This is for both of us." He hated to ask. He wanted to take her so bad, but he refused to resort to rape just because he had pushed too far too fast and she couldn't manage to speak.

Frysk nodded her head, tear tracks very apparent over her face, but the smell of arousal still pouring off her at the same time.

"Say it." He demanded.

Frysk swallowed the heavy ball of snot that had slid down her throat from crying and dry swallowed a second time before she could manage words. "I want you to continue Spikes. I can handle it." Dark brown eyes met glowing red ones.

"Good, this needs to come off then."

Before he could move to shred it as he planned, she nodded and started to pull it off all together. Seeing how his hand was positioned, she gave a small smirk. "I sort of need this Spikes. It's sort of my only shirt and I won't be walking around topless." She started having trouble when she tried to raise her arms over her head and he realized it was probably due to the damage he had done to her back and she was still laying down as he had ordered. Just as he was about to offer to help, she pulled it free of her shoulders and from there she seemed to have a much easier time of it. The set of bloodied shirts joined the shawl on the floor with a heavy flop.

Spikes was a bit too busy to notice that though as he finally got to see the one who pulled at his soul in an unfamiliar way bared to him voluntarily. The definition of her chest was interrupted by the swell of her bosom, a milky white, paler even than his own ivory bones. Her endowment was modest, having only a b-cup, if she ever had the chance or desire to get sized. Laying back as she was, they seemed even smaller as they spread out over her ribs.

Even as Spikes admired her, Frysk was busy memorizing the markings that covered the tall skeleton before her. She did not know their origin or reason, but black stripes wrapped around each of his ribs, all seeming to stem from a fleur-de-lis like pattern imprinted on his sternum. His floating ribs also carried these strange dark ribbons. Over his scapula she could make out strange symbols whose meaning she couldn't begin to fathom. She had never seen him without his jacket, never had she imagined he would look like this. Her amazement at his design washed away her pain for a moment, allowing her to see him clearly. "Beautiful." She breathed, lifting a hand, wanting to touch him to prove to her fogged mind that it really was real.

Spikes huffed and stepped forward, placing a knee between her legs as he finally joined her on the bed. "Far from it, just a bit of ink and bone. You surpass any of my dreams by far." With a hand then under her head buried in her hair, he kissed her deep.

She in turn, pulled him into her, groaning at the kiss and hissing at the burn of the stretch of the ravaged skin on her back. Her hands curled around the back of his ribs. She was amazed to find that they were not cold, nor just warm like skin. Rather, they seemed to be heated, almost hot. She had held his hand before, but it was always gloved. Was this why? Either way she liked it. Muttering into the kiss, she found herself growling for more. She felt him grin against her mouth, and he moved his leg from between her to either side and couldn't stop from chasing him when he pulled away from their kiss.

He grabbed her legs and pulled her up until they were flush. She grimaced as the duvet stuck to her back and pulled at where it had healed to her, but was soon very distracted as he started thrusting against her. The both of them looking for friction but neither willing to push past that line. They knew something would change if they went that far.

They continued like that for a while longer, neither able to finish, but both lost in their shared ecstasy. They changed positions several times, resulting in Frysk having her back ripped open each time. Her leggings ended up shredded and her legs had many slashes and punctures from Spikes claws or teeth, but she had no complaints to voice during their time.

Finally they stopped, mostly due to Frysk's blood loss becoming too great and she couldn't continue. "I'll be fine Spikes." She assured breathless and limp on the bed. "I just need rest and probably a healing. I'm just dizzy and lightheaded is all."

"I assume you aren't planning on staying here to get that rest though." He growled. He knew she wouldn't stay, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"I can't. Echo and my Undyne would rip the Undergrounds apart looking for me. They are over-protective and might be just a bit possessive." She hated seeing him annoyed, especially after what they had just shared.

"Well, I can't really do a healing. Never was my specialty. That was always Boss's thing. I know you said only I could see you like this." He gestured to her naked torso, "but I don't think he'll be able to heal you without looking at the wounds."

"Oh. Well, I guess if you trust him, and you stay, it would be okay. I should probably take off my leggings too. You did a number on my legs as well." Even as she said that, she started to try and shimmy out of her shorts, but her back just wouldn't let her bend. Without the pleasure to counter the pain, she could barely move.

"Here, let me then. You probably shouldn't be bending like that" he leapt forward as she nearly toppled off the bed due to her blood loss, "as I was saying, you need to take it easy until you recover or you'll just hurt yourself."

"Fine, but don't rip them. I've had them for as long as I can remember. I fell with those shorts and that stripped shirt, that's why I still wear them. To remind me where I came from. I just altered them a bit." She flopped back, flinching slightly at the pain, and left all the work to Spikes of undressing her.

Spikes found it interesting that she had hung onto the same clothes since she had fallen considering how old she was, but made sure to be careful as she had asked. Her boots he took off so that he could take off the shorts and then came the leggings. After an inch, he realized she had nothing on under them. He glanced up just to make sure she was okay with him continuing, but she just had an arm thrown over her eyes. He took a breath and carefully peeled the form fit pants off of her. As he did, he found that they were completely soaked in blood and her skin under them was covered in blood. He had not realized just how bad he had mutilated her legs. The black of her leggings had hidden a lot from him. Once they were finally off, he tossed them to the side and grabbed her shorts and carefully slid them back on her. The small area they covered had escaped his claws somehow, but it left her with a bit of modesty that even he was glad she was able to retain. "I'm going to get my brother now." She flicked a hand to show she heard, but otherwise made no sound or movement. Stepping out of his room and walking over to the door down the hall from his, he realized that Boss had likely heard everything that had happened. For a moment he felt a bit ashamed and embarrassed, but then shoved it aside. They experienced enough terror and horror in their verse, they were allowed some small good thing, weren't they? With that thought, he rapped on Boss's door. "Open up, I need your magic, now." Faintly he heard a sigh and shuffling then the door opened.

"So she survived?" Boss asked. He looked tired at first, then surprised as he took in his elder brother's appearance. It was rare, nay, it never happened that his brother was seen without his jacket, even in their home.

"It wasn't my intention for her to die in the first place. What are you looking at?" Spikes looked down at himself and realized he was still only in his pants. Crossing his arms he glowered at his brother, "What? You've seen me shirtless before."

"Yeah, but I've never seen you with your guard down and standing so loose. It's strange. That aside, you wanted me to check out your new pet?"

"She's not a pet!" Spikes snarled, grabbing Boss by the neck before he knew what he was doing.

"Whoa, okay. Not a pet. Got it." He held up his hands in surrender. Never had his brother snapped so quickly. This human must be important in a whole different way.

With a growl Spikes released his brother and stalked back to his room, before opening the door though he turned back to his brother. "She needs healing. You are to heal her only, don't stare. She is mine. Understood?"

"She is yours. All I'm gonna do is heal her. I have no interest in humans, nor do I have any interest in taking what is yours. I know better than that." Spikes nodded, then opened the door and stepped in first, followed by Boss. It took Boss all of a few seconds to see the carnage wrecked on Frysk's torso and legs to leap into action. "Great stars brother! What did you do to her? Humans are fragile, you're lucky she's still alive at all."

"I'm not that fragile you sack of bones." Frysk snapped as she felt his hand glide over her legs, gathering what were injuries and what was just left over blood from other injuries.

He jumped, having believed that she was passed out. "Well you are certainly much hardier than the humans we are used to here then. Tell me, what hurts them most so I can take care of the worst bits first."

She removed her arm from over her eyes and glared at him, then glanced over to Spikes, who just nodded from where he stood leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Sighing, she told him about her back, and peeled herself from the duvet once more, reopening a good portion of it. Boss admitted that he found her endurance quite impressive as he noticed she did little more than wince at the freshening of her wound. After that, it was just going from one damage to the next. Some left her screaming as he had to regrow muscle and skin where it had been damaged too badly. Once he was finished though, she thanked him and he left with only a glance at his brother. She went to grab her shirts, only to find them crusted over with the blood they had absorbed from the scratches that had been originally inflicted. She really didn't want to wear them, but she had nothing else. Just as she was about to put them on, a cloth hit her from behind. She grabbed it from where it had stayed on her head and after a few seconds realized it was one of Spikes black t-shirts.

"I'll get your stuff clean and return it to you when it's finished." He growled, back turned as he searched his wardrobe for something else. Finally he turned around. "Take these as well, at least until I get your leggings cleaned and repaired." In his hands was a pair of black jeans.

"Thank you." Frysk accepted them and proceeded to start getting dressed, changing from her shorts to her new jeans. Thankfully the waist fit, but they were much too long so she had to roll them until they rode at her ankles. Then she pulled on her boots. While she had gotten dressed, he had gathered her stuff and set her shawl aside. It had somehow managed to avoid the stains. He had also gotten redressed. "I'm going to head home now. Thank you for having me. I hope we can hang out some time again." She blushed as she admitted as much, but she really did enjoy his company, and not just for the sex and torture.

"You can count on it." He growled.

She nodded and let herself out, watchful for any monsters that may see her as an easy target, though none attacked this time. She made her way to the portal, jumped to Undertale to pick up her weapons, and finally went home. She saw no sign of Echo and assumed he was out on some sort of patrol. Their argument seemed so far away she couldn't even really remember it. She curled up on her cot and instantly fell asleep.


	16. A Soul Song

Chapter 14 – The Soul Song

Underfell – Sans(Fell), Papyrus(Boss), Chara, Undyne

Echotale – Gaster/Sans(Echo), Frisk(Frysk)

Undertale – Sans, Gaster, Frisk, Grillby, Papyrus, Undyne

"So in this universe you're a prankster, huh?" sneered Fell as he smacked down his third mug on the bar, having just drained it.

"That obvious?" laughed a very drunk Sans as he sat on his stool swinging his feet.

Fell snorted, then snapped his phalanges at the flame for a refill. "Extra mustard this time." He growled and shoved his glass down the bar for the elemental to catch.

Grillby for his part just nodded and got the drink. He didn't speak much, but he could tell this monster was not someone to mess with. His levels were much too high, so even though he was rude and annoying, Grillby did whatever he was bid quickly and quietly.

Looking back at Sans, Fell was surprised to find the skeleton watching him. "What'd'ya want?" he snapped.

"You do know you don't have to be such an ass. He'll get you whatever even if you ask nice?" he shrugged and took another haul off his ketchup laced tequila.

"Yeah, well I ain't changin just to make you feel better, so fuck off. I order how I order cause that's what I do."

"Whatever." Sans shrugged again. Finishing off his drink, he set it down with the horde of glasses he had collected at the end of the bar. I'm going home. Kid's probably getting worried. I don't normally stay out this late." He slid off his stool, stumbling a few steps before fetching up against a table to gather his balance.

"Pussy." Grumbled Fell. It was no fun to drink alone and the bartender wasn't rising to any of the bait he had tried to throw at him. He had insulted the guy, the place, his patrons, everything, and still he wouldn't say a word or speak. Maybe he was mute, wouldn't that be a laugh? He snorted even as a mustard laced whisky was set gently in front of him. He downed the whole thing at once and followed the much more drunk skeleton out into the cold.

Sans, for his part, stumbled every few steps one way, then the other as he teetered home. Fell sighed and grabbed his arm and started dragging him toward the house in a much more straight line, though it did zig and zag in a few spots betraying his own drunkenness.

Back at the house Papyrus was laying out a bedroll for Undyne as she brushed her teeth. Due to how late it had gotten they had decided that she could stay the night, which meant that Pap would likely be up all night from excitement and be playing video games until he finally tired himself out trying to beat the fish woman.

Echo had ended up staying and sat with Gaster drinking coffee and discussing the differences between their two worlds and the monsters that lived in each. Echo had trouble believing in the differences of how this universe differed so much from his own, but he only had to glance upstairs to Papyrus to see it was true. In his universe, Papyrus led the royal guard for King Asgore and was vicious in his quest for freedom from the underground. He already had battle plans set for when they reached the surface and how they would take on the humans that had trapped them below. The Papyrus here was so innocent and child-like. On top of it all, there was no thought of war. Sure there was the royal guard, but animosity was pretty low key for the most part in this universe.

"I can see why Frysk goes to these other universes if they are so friendly, albeit, the one I originally ended up in was not like this one, a bit rougher around the edges." Echo laughed. They had both loosened up after a few drinks and science talk.

"We are trying to limit the contact with more dangerous universes at the moment, but a few do occasionally come through. What was the one you ended up in like?" Gaster asked, worried that some new threat may have been found.

"Well, their Snowdin had more dust than snow on the ground and I was greeted rather abruptly by their version of Papyrus. He nearly took my head off. Once I assured him that I was only passing through and came through that portal thing, he calmed down though. Actually had their brother bring me to the bar here since theirs was closed." He shrugged. Their behavior was not unexpected to him, if a bit brash he would admit.

"You mean one of them is here in our universe with you?" Gaster asked, then remembered the smaller, gruffer skeleton that had been in Echo's company upon their arrival immediately after his own. "I don't suppose you mean Fell, do you? His eldest brother actually help create the portal, so they have access to it, even though their world is definitely more dangerous than most of them that we associate with."

Echo nodded, "That was what his brother called him. I'll assume that they are friends of yours then?"

Gaster tipped his hand in the air in a so-so movement. "More like we are working associates. We appreciate the distance between us, but work side by side when needed to keep improving and expanding the portal-scape."

"I guess that makes sense. Considering the levels I saw on the two there, and the type of levels I've seen so far here, I can understand your uneasiness." Echo reasoned.

Gaster gave a slight grimace even as he nodded his confirmation and couldn't help once more glancing at his guests levels once more. A second of uncomfortable silence and Echo realized his flop.

"I hope that I am not making you uncomfortable, but it is late. Perhaps I should be on my way?" he offered, just in case Gaster actually had been looking to be rid of him all this time and he not realized it.

"No no no!" Gaster quickly assured, waving his hands, "You are perfectly fine. Your levels are eerily high, I'll admit, but you seem like a decent monster." He got up to get more tea and lifted the coffee pot in question to Echo.

"Yes please." He said, he had already been half up and ready to leave had Gaster asked. He finished getting up to bring his cup over for a refill and add his preferred fixings. He didn't miss Gaster's unmistakable lavender blush when they accidentally knocked elbows in the small work space. Since the coffee was still hot on the burner, it didn't take long for Echo to finish making his new cup, but Gaster was brewing a new pot of hot water for his tea and as Echo sat, Gaster leaned back against the stove and observed him.

Breaking the silence, Gaster cautiously probed, "I haven't seen any monsters that look like you in our or any of the other universes we've found." He left the statement hang, hoping the other would be forthcoming with information. Maybe they just had an extra person in their universe, but something about this monster felt off.

"I am honestly not surprised. I was but wasn't born like this." Echo, knew what Gaster was getting at and took the bait, taking mercy on his host. His statement made Gaster's brows rise in confused interest, but the scientist held his tongue for the time being. "I guess the best place to start would be when the two scientists of our world were forced together to work. It is not like they did not want to work together, they just ended up placed together by the King. They were both geniuses in their own right, and combined they advanced a lot of the technology and understanding of machines in our universe. One day though, one of their experiments went wrong. I don't know the details, and honestly I can't remember much of how it all came together. I know they were working with determination and monster souls trying to make monsters stronger so we could stand a better chance against the humans. When the dust had settled, they were gone but I was there, as I am now. I have bits and pieces of memory from both of them, and after some talking with another scientist who is helping us now, we were able to figure out that somehow I am harboring both of their souls within me, and they somehow created a whole new soul, resulting in my personal consciousness. Their bodies ended up melding almost perfectly and left me with the form I acquired. That is the closest we have come to a hypothesis of what may have happened. The chance of that being replicated elsewhere under different circumstance and of coming across it is pretty low I believe." Echo had stared into his coffee through his explanation, and upon ending, finally took a drink then looked up to see what Gaster made of his story.

Rather than repulsed or horrified, Gaster was interested. This was clearly visible on his face as he attempted to think through the chances of that happening elsewhere, and just what could have been the catalyst to create a soul, combine two bodies into one, and bind three souls into that one form without it going mad or destroying itself. The very idea of messing with the science of life and creation was nauseating, but the idea of what could be achieved if success was guaranteed was beyond the imagination.

Echo watched Gaster ponder and think, his fingers drumming on the edge of the stove. The water had boiled and a new cup of tea rested in Gaster's other hand forgotten. He could just imagine either of his previous selves being just like this man.

A slamming door interrupted both of their though processes though as Fell kicked in the door and dragged a barely conscious Sans through the door. He glanced at the two of them near the kitchen and snorted when he saw Echo a mug of something obviously not alcohol. "Where you want this?" he growled out to Gaster, holding up limp Sans by his hood.

Gaster quickly set down his mug and rushed over to save Sans from this much rougher version of himself. "Ah, I can take him from you. Thank you for bringing him home."

"Eh, whatever. Woulda fallen asleep in the street if I hadn't and the someone mighta tripped on him and dusted his ass. He ain't bad drinking company and that is hard to find." He threw a disdainful glance at Echo who just watched.

"I doubt anyone here would dust him." Gaster attempted to lift the smaller skeleton to the recliner, but couldn't handle it, having next to no physical strength and Sans weighed a lot more than he looked.

Shaking his head, Fell muttered to himself, "Wimp." And grabbed his look-a-like and flopped him into the chair.

"Ah, thank you again." Stammered Gaster, unsure what to do with this new guest.

"I'm goin home. Bartender here ain't no fun and nobody is left to drink with." He groused. He turned to make his way back outside and felt all the air leave his chest and his soul get stuck in his proverbial throat. Before him was a human girl, not unlike his own pet back home, but this one was well cared for and wasn't cowering away from him in fear. She was asleep and peaceful. He couldn't explain it, but some part of him said that she was important and he needed to know more about her.

"Everything okay Fell?" Gaster asked when the small skeleton stopped in his tracks and just stared at Frisk. He looked, confused, but tender, and a bit worried as well.

Gaster's words snapped him out of his reverie. "I'm fine. Just leaving." He tightened his jacket around his shoulders and left in a hurry before he could make more of a fool of himself. 'What the hell is going on? I'll check on the pet tonight, and if she makes me feel weird, I'll turn her over, I swear.' He gives himself a little shake and steps through the portal back in his universe and makes a beeline for the human's shack. Ever since it killed Undyne, Boss wouldn't let it in the house and Fell couldn't really blame him. Undyne had been one of the few monsters who gave two shits about them and Boss had looked up to her. He had wanted to be the one to defeat her and prove he had what it took to be one of the most powerful monsters in the underground. When he reached the shack and pulled open the thin wooden door and heard shuffling in the back. The whole thing stunk of excrement, urine, and puke. He summoned a red light so he could see and after a few seconds picked out the emancipated form in the back of the shed trying to make itself small and unseen. A few months ago it had spat at him and struck fear into the weaker monsters of this underground. How the tables had turned. Looking at it, he only felt revulsion. He no longer wanted this pet, and it didn't well up confusing feelings like the human in the other verse. He put out his light and left the shack, slamming the door. Going inside, he found Boss cleaning some blood off of his boots, likely from work. "Eh, Boss?" he carefully asked, unsure of his brother's temperament at the moment.

"Hmm." He hummed.

'He must be in a good mood' Fell figures. "The pet doesn't look like it will last much longer. Do you want to take it up to the King or want me to just drop it out with the post for the Doggi to grab?" his voice faltered slightly at the end as Boss stopped his polishing.

"I'll take it up, but you have to clean that shed out. You wanted to save it, now you can clean up its mess." He sighed.

Fell knew better than to ask after his Brother's well-being, so just said thank you and went to his room to sleep off his drinking. Before he could make it though, Boss spoke up once more.

"What happened to the other monster?"

Fell lied, knowing if he said that the other had left and not drank, then his brother would wonder just where he had been this whole time. "He drunk a ton, almost more than me, then left. I had to help him to the portal, but where he ends up after that is not my concern." Fell shrugged and hoped his brother bought it. It was sort of true. He had drank with another monster and had passed Sans after their third hour together, then helped the other home. It wasn't all a complete lie.

"Hmmm." Boss hummed again. "Go to your room. No breakfast for lying and we will see about lunch. I can smell another human on you and your soul's beat is off."

Fell slumped but made his way to his closet "room" and resigned himself to a few extra hours hungry the next morn while wondering what his brother meant with his soul.

Having just finished his third cup of coffee and talked with Gaster more on random subjects, Echo excused himself and started home himself. It had been a long day, he stopped to look Sans over before he left, being the closest thing there was to a replica of the other half of what a part of him used to be. It felt a bit like de ja vu to see this monster who had but had not once been himself. Shaking himself, he left. Stepping through the portal was comforting as well. He looked around, seeing the ruins and could now place which ones where which buildings from the other verses. Everything had a place there, but this one had encountered a civil war and made life much different for the monsters and human here. When he finally got to their hut and stepped inside, he found Frysk curled up trying to retain warmth next to their small stove on her cot. He noticed her new clothes and guessed she must have picked them up in another verse. Their argument was forgotten for the time being as he settled himself to grab a few hours of sleep before they had to be back up and at their normal daily lives once more. "I'm sorry I can't give you a more steady life like what they have kid. You deserved better." He whispers before drifting off.

Gaster, for his part, bid Papyrus a good night and lets him know his brother is passed out on the recline and drank too much once again and makes his way over to the inn and happily collapses in his own bed there. He recognized the soul song when he saw it, but he never expected to experience it himself. Now that he had, he felt intoxicated himself. To think that he, great scientist W.D. Gaster had his soul mate locked in a universe where the whole underground was in civil war, his life on the line every day, was terrifying and unbelievable. Moreover, the man had almost as many levels as Spikes, an alter of his own self. The levels on Echo though, did not scare him the way that the Underfell monsters or Frysk's levels scared him. Maybe it was the soul song distracting his mind or maybe it was the way he held himself, either way, he wanted to know Echo more and see him again as soon as he possibly could.


	17. How Amethyst Met Hip

Chapter 15 – How Amethyst Met Hip

Underlust – Amethyst (Purple Grillby), Razzy (Papyrus), Sugar Plum (Sans), Teal (Grillby)  
Dancetale – Hip (Sans), Stretch (Papyrus), Markis (Grillby), Doll (Frisk)

UnderFell bar is only open four days of the week: Friday through Monday. Since he does have some time off after a particularly stressful, if boring, weekend Amethyst does a fist pump and spin as he steps through the portal. There was enough to cover here, he knows he could get away with it. Upon stepping through though, he could immediately tell something was off. For one, the house next to him didn't reek of sex and the windows rattled with the pounding of music. (He doubted a month of airing and air fresheners could clear Razzy and Sugar Plum's home of its trademarks scent.) Glancing around, he took a tentative step away from the portal, and then another until he could look around the corner of the house. Kids were skipping, cartwheeling, spinning, and inevitably falling in the snow around the tree in the center of the square. A skeleton resembling Sugar Plum or Fell seemed to be watching and trying to mentor them. He was obviously taller than the other versions he knew, just by measuring off the tree. There was a shout from the front of the house, distracting the skeleton mid-spin resulting in a wipeout in the snow. The target of his attention got to his feet, yelled something back, and gave all the kids a pat on the head before turning and heading for the house. To avoid getting caught, Amethyst pulled back quickly, hiding behind the corner. Putting a hand to his head, muttered, "By the stars, where am I and how did I get here?" he shot a glance at the portal and for some reason unknown to him, turned to shoot a quick look around the corner of the house again. "All this time in Underfell is making me edgy." He grumbled as he rolled back to settle against the chill siding of the house and calm his racing soul.

"And you are?"

His flames nearly went out in shocked when a melodious voice sounded from his other side. "Wah!" instantly he had an arm raised in defense and a medium fireball ready in the other.

"Whoa. Steady there man. We're cool, heh, cool as ice." It was that skeleton from by the tree.

Amethyst looked him over carefully for any sign of aggression, but could only find worry as his eyes shifted from him to his fireball and back again. Slowly he lowered his arm and let his fireball fizzle out. "Sorry, it's been a stressful couple of days. Name's Amethyst." Hesitantly he offered a hand. "What's yours?"

The skeleton nodded, "I guess the stress can get us all a bit heated, what with the annual competition coming up. You must be from New Home. I'm Hip, the Snowdin Dance Champ." He still was leery and looked ready to bolt, not surprising considering his complete lack of EXP or LOVE in comparison to Amethyst's moderate levels. Just as hesitantly he shook the proffered hand.

"Actually, I'm not from this universe at all. I didn't mean to even come here. So I'm not sure why the portal brought me here."

"Portal? You mean that strange thing?" He gestured with his chin. "It showed up a few weeks ago and nobody knew anything about it, so we left it alone."

"Yeah, it connects alternate universes so humans and monsters can cross and meet. Two scientists from different AU's, or Alternate Universes, discovered the paths at the same time and have been trying to link the worlds to help create diversity and in the case of my world, more mating opportunities." He blushed in embarrassment at the last part.

"Sounds complicated." He shrugged, "Stretch said the kid saw someone behind the house and asked me to check it out anyhow." He changed subject, "So, I guess it's fine if you stick around, just don't go picking any fights. I gotta go check on them."

"Actually, I'm gonna try and get home, but thanks for the offer." Amethyst game a genuine smile. It seemed that the skeleton brothers were close in their own way in every verse. He stepped past Hip and through the portal.

"Oh Razzy, go harder already and stop teasing!" came the loud whine of Sugar Plum from above, followed by less formulated sounds. Seriously, couldn't they close the windows at least! Amethyst shook his head and made his way home, mind on the strange dancing skeleton named Hip.

It only took another two days before curiosity got the best of Amethyst and he found himself abandoning his normal cleaning chores and back in front of the portal. He didn't know what the universe he had stumbled upon was called, but he remembered Hip. He wanted to meet him again and find out more about what his verse was about. The small monster had seemed very energetic and friendly, a complete turnaround to his crowd in the bar at Underfell. He also seemed to really get along with the community kids, kids who weren't fearing for the lives or looking for a new 'playmate', and he had a connection with his brother that was not as messed up as the skeletons from the two universes he knew and seemed much more easy going than the one he shared with his own brother. Taking a deep breath and keeping the image of the universe he has seen Hip in and of Hip himself, he stepped through the portal. The first sounds he heard were children laughing and he couldn't stop the infectious grin that became plastered over his face. He was not used to hearing such a carefree sound anywhere and instantly felt happier and lighter at hearing it. He was behind the brothers' house once more, as seemed to be normal in every verse he was finding, so made his way from behind it and looked up the road toward the square.

Children were once more gathered around the tree playing and doing little dance steps. A monster who had some similar appearance to Boss or Razzy was gently but sternly scolding a smaller monster who was seemingly spinning in the snow. He was telling him that that was not real dance. This taller monster was dressed smartly in a white long sleeve shirt, folded collar, a red flower in the lapel, and long black slacks. If he had a black over coat Amethyst thought he would look like he was heading for the office. As Amethyst watched, a teenage human girl came spinning away from the porch. Her outfit was even stranger than the tall skeleton's. A pink tutu with light blue accents and blue ribbons wrapped around her legs, ending in pink slippers.

"Tango, catch me!" she called out and jumped, spinning in the air. Just in time, yet not seeming to rush, but timing it in perfect rhythm, the taller monster, apparently Tango, stepped forward and caught her from the air and lighted her down light as a feather where she dipped into what looked like some sort of curtsey.

Amethyst couldn't help but clap at the perfect timing and trust of it all. In an instant, all eyes turned toward him and everyone went silent. Amethyst watched as Tango took him in, glanced at the children, and the human, then back to him with a worried look on his face.

"WHY DON'T YOU TAKE THE KIDS AND GO PRACTICE AT THE TOWN STUDIO DOLL." He said evenly, eyes never leaving Amethyst as he gently pushed the human toward the kids and they all moved down the street casting unsure looks behind them.

Amethyst watched in dismay. He hadn't meant to break up their fun.

"WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU WANT?" Tango demanded once the children disappeared around a corner.

Amethyst immediately threw up his hands in a show of peace. "Whoa dude, calm down, I ain't here to hurt nobody."

Stretch narrowed his eyes but held his ground.

Sighing, Amethyst answered his questions. "My name's Amethyst. I just wanted to meet up with someone I met the other day here. Said his name was Hip. I swear I'm not here to cause trouble."

"YOU SAY YOU DON'T WANT TROUBLE, BUT YOUR LEVELS CLEARLY MARK YOU AS TROUBLE. WHERE ARE YOU FROM, WHO CAN BACK YOUR STORY? I'M NOT LETTING YOU ANYWHERE NEAR MY BROTHER UNTIL YOU CONVINCE ME YOU AREN'T A THREAT TO HIM." Growled Tango. His hands were clenched, but Amethyst could see them shaking as well.

"Unfortunately the only ones who could vouch for me right now are not monsters I think you would want to meet. They either have higher levels than me or they would be very dangerous to kids like those you just sent away or even yourself. As for where I'm from, I live just outside of Snowdin, through the portal and in another universe, but still in a Snowdin that is setup similar to how this one seems to be." He gestured around and made as if to look around.

"THE PORTAL? THAT STRANGE THING IN MY BACK YARD?" Stretch still hadn't relaxed, but curiosity was often a good sign. Amethyst just nodded. "BUT IF ALL THE MONSTERS YOU ASSOCIATE WITH ARE SO DANGEROUS, WHY SHOULD I TRUST YOU?"

Amethyst could only shrug. "I can't tell you whether you should or shouldn't trust me. I can only tell you that you can. I won't hurt your brother any more than I would hurt my own. That may not mean much to you, but, well, that's about all I can really say. I talked to him for a few seconds last time I ended up here and he sparked my interest I guess you could say." Amethyst couldn't help shrugging again.

Tango slumped completely upon hearing the pun. "LET ME CALL HIM TO VERIFY YOUR STORY ABOUT MEETING HIM. IF YOU'RE TELLING THE TRUTH, I GUESS I'LL LET YOU SEE HIM. YOU CAN'T BE ALL THAT BAD IF YOU'RE THROWING PUNS I SUPPOSE." He pulled out a cell and started dialing on it.

Amethyst had to refrain from correcting his assumption that a punning monster was a safe one. He knew at least two that were quite dangerous in the right circumstances and they lived and breathed puns. He was snapped out of his thoughts about the other two when Tango started walking toward him.

"WELL, SOUNDS LIKE YOUR STORY MATCHES. HE'S COMING BACK FROM NEW HOME AT THE MOMENT, SO IF YOU WOULD LIKE, YOU CAN WATCH SOME TV OR SOMETHING AT OUR PLACE." The offer sounded more like an order or do this or leave, so Amethyst just nodded and accepted the offer graciously.

The tv, it turned out, only had one thing on even with there being multiple channels. Dance, all kinds dominated the network, a different channel for talk shows about it, monsters giving lessons in different kinds and at different levels of experience. Amethyst ended up watching one with a robot that looked similar to his universe's Mettaton, the only other monster not affected by the plague in his world. This monster was doing a dance that looked similar to what Hip had been showing to the kids the day that he had first ended up here.

When Tango saw what he finally decided on, he huffed about that not being real dance and marched back to the kitchen grumbling about what proper dance was. Amethyst ignored him and tried to understand how such movements were even possible. As he watched he learned the form of dance was known as freestyle. The robot on the screen was certainly good at it, but he personally thought that Hip was better. Hip didn't work to do it, it just seemed to flow through him. Amethyst was so engrossed in the tv and comparing how the robot and Hip differed in their movements and slightly different styles that he didn't even hear the door open or see Hip enter the house, so he completely missed the initial look of surprise and astonishment that plastered itself on the skeleton's face.

Eyes wide and completely disbelieving what was before his eyes, Hip glanced outside as if the snow on the ground or the crystals in the cavern ceiling held the answers as to why the flame he hadn't been able to get off his mind was now sitting in his living room. When they provided no answer, he quickly shut the door and bolted for the kitchen, where he could hear Tango banging around, likely working on supper. Catching a corner of the wall, he swung through the doorway and into the room, nearly running into his brother.

Tango was thankfully used to his brother's antics and had heard the door open, then shut after a longer than normal time. Before Hip could collide and make a mess of the batter he was mixing for biscuts he caught his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. "HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO RUN THROUGH THE KITCHEN! THIS IS A DELECATE AREA!"

Completely ignoring his brother's scolding, Hip asked, "When did he get here? _Why_ is he here?" he felt on the edge of an attack of some sort. His breath was shallow and fast, eyelights blown wide, and if possible, his unblemished white bones where even paler than normal.

"ARE YOU OKAY BROTHER? YOU LOOK SICK. I CAN SEND HIM AWAY IF HE IS CAUSING YOU PROBLEMS." Tango was already in motion to go send Amethyst on his way, glad to be rid of someone so dangerous.

"No, please Tango. Don't send him away. I'm fine, I swear!"

"YOU DON'T LOOK FINE." Grumbled Tango as he looked down at his brother. The pleading in his eyes made him stop though. "HE SAID HE WAS HERE TO SEE YOU. SAID YOU SAW HIM OFF LAST TIME HE WAS HERE. SAYS HE IS FROM SOME OTHER UNIVERSE OR SOMETHING. I DON'T LIKE HIM." Tango couldn't help but notice as Hip's eyes grew wider, if possible, and almost before he could finish, he was gone, racing back to the living room where the purple flame had been.

When Hip slid into the living room, he made immediate eye contact with Amethyst, who had an arm over the back of the couch, looking over his shoulder right in his direction, likely having heard conversation and gotten curious. Hip felt as if all the air had been punched out of his ribs and couldn't help notice the tips of the flames on the other shrunk and tinged pink before recovering. It took him a few seconds to recover. "Uh, he… hey." He managed to say.

A wide smile instantly appeared on Amethyst's face. "Hey yourself. Hope you don't mind, but I thought I'd come visit and say hi."

"N-no, I don't mind at all. Uh." Hip looked around for somewhere to sit so he wasn't leaning on the doorway as if he were the stranger here. The only open space was right next to Amethyst.

Amethyst picked up on this and shifted over a bit, leaving two spaces open on the couch, where he had previously been sitting in the middle. "I won't bite, I swear." He waved his hand at the now open space.

"Heh, thanks." Hip slowly made his way over and easily vaulted over the back of the furniture to settle gently on the cushion furthest from his visitor. "So… ah." Hip looked for something, anything to say, and quickly realized he had no idea what to say.

Amethyst was in a similar boat, as he realized he had been quite impulsive on just coming over, uninvited, to see someone he had only met for mere moments, even if it felt right to be near them. He decided he could try to start off the conversation. "So, uh, what is this universe called?"

"Huh?" Hip looked up startled, obviously lost in thought, trying to come up with something to say.

"I've found that each place, although they look similar, call themselves different things, usually something that defines that universe." Amethyst shrugged and waited for an answer.

"Oh, uh, well, we are in Snowdin, um, there's also Waterfall…"

"No, no, the world over all. What do you call your world?" Amethyst laughed, a deep gravely sound with a few crackles.

"Oh, um Dancetale. What is your universe called?" Hip asked, unsure and hoping he had giving the right answer this time. He had to admit though, Amethyst's laugh was amusing and made him smile. At his question, Amethyst immediately stopped laughing and turned a deep purple in his face while the very tips of his flames flickered hot pink and subtle blue.

Neither of them noticed that Tango had been watching and listening from the doorway, watching the stranger and his brother interact. He had noticed his brother acting differently for the past few days and went to Mrs. Bunny the other day to ask. She had told him, after a glance at Hip out the window, he had caught a soul song. Tango doubted it could possibly be this powerful stranger, but this was his only way to be sure and if it was, there was nothing he could do about it. There was only one soul song for every monster. To destroy the forming bond would break both monsters for the rest of their lives and possibly even lead to their eventual dusting. With that in mind, he had let the stranger in, and now listened for any information on this elemental he could get.

"My universe is called Underlust, but I spend about half my time working in another verse called Underfell. Underfell is where I got these levels, but I'd rather be there than in my home universe."

It took Hip a few seconds to figure out the correlation with Amethyst's home verse, then he glanced up critically. "So you are saying your home is centered on lust? If I'm understanding your explanation of universe names correctly. And the place you work, is centered around, uh, falling?"

Amethyst could help snorting in laughter at the translation of Underfell's name. "Unfortunately, yes, my home is centered on lust. It is quite dangerous for humans or monsters not of our realm to wander in our underground as most of our population is trapped in a sex haze and tries to have sex with anything that moves. Since the barrier broke, it has become much safer and easier, but some of us still have a hard time controlling our urges, so humans are warned away from areas unless they are willing to risk their bodies."

"And are you like that?" Hip interrupted, a hand on the arm of the couch ready to flee if he absolutely had to, as if Amethyst was about to jump him right now.

"No, whether it is a curse or a blessing, I went unaffected by the plague that caused my verse's underground to go crazy. Now, as for the verse I work in, Underfell, it is, but isn't about falling. For whatever reason, Underfell is a universe where it is essentially kill or be killed. If you are not strong enough or don't have reasonable enough worth, you are considered no more than extra EXP and LOVE and become a target. I happened upon the verse when I was trying to hide from some of my verse's inhabitants and tripped through the portal. I was instantly attacked and defended myself. I'm ashamed to admit that I ended up dusting quite a few children, but they were all trying to dust me and left no doubt they wouldn't stop until they succeeded. When the battle finished, I was approached by a skeleton monster that looked vaguely like your own brother and he told me that he could either dust me for the slaughter of the children or I could work off my debt to society in the local bar where they had just lost their bartender during a squall. The choice was obvious as his LOVE was pushing fifteen."

"How terrible." Hip was hugging himself, rocking and shivering. "And to think the first time I met you I thought you were a spy from New Home trying to scope out the competition. Dang, you really have it rough in those other universes. Why not just find a calm universe and leave all that nastiness behind?"

Amethyst could tell from one look that Hip was honest in his evaluation and question. "I have a brother back home and I don't think he could make it without me. I don't think he even knows how to do the laundry himself." As he told his own stories and talked about his family, Amethyst realized just how shitty he really had it and felt a bit down. "I can't just leave him alone there, but I can't take him elsewhere because he was afflicted with the Lust Plague. When it comes to the Underfell verse, I can't just turn my back. If working the bar can help me atone for the slaughter of those children, then that is what I'll do. My entire family has always worked bars, clubs, or restaurants, so I sort of have the prerequisite. My brother actually runs a club in our Snowdin. It is almost always busy, but I have to keep yelling at him for pining after his one employee. I've caught the two of them going at it more than once before and after hours. It wouldn't be so bad except his employee is already with someone else. I'm so afraid he is gonna get himself hurt." Without even realizing it, Amethyst was spilling his whole story. Once he started, it all just came flooding out. Normally he would be suave and confident, but then he normally didn't talk about himself or go over to other monster's homes uninvited. Right now though, he ran his hands in and around each other and just watched the movement, afraid to look up and see the disgust, horror, disdain, and dismissal he knew should be there. He was a horrible monster for all he had done. So he nearly went nova in surprise when a hand touched his knee.

"You're a good monster Amethyst. I don't think I would be able to hang around here, even for my brother if things got that bad, much less force myself to put my life in danger every day for one mistake. You've had it rough, but you are so strong. It's amazing how strong you are after all you've gone through." Hip's words cut right through his soul, spoken so soft and reassuringly with an honesty that couldn't be faked.

Unseen to the two on the couch, Tango went back to the kitchen to attend his meal. He couldn't stop the few tears that escaped. He had misjudge the flame. He could admit that, he still thought he was dangerous, and definitely not the perfect choice for his brother, but what his brother had said hit home too. Here in their peaceful universe, neither of them would be able to handle what this monster did on a daily basis. He couldn't find it in him to be upset that his brother would leave him if he ended up the way Amethyst described his own people. He would want his brother to leave him if he became that way. He had also seen how Hip had watched Amethyst the entire time. He was entirely transfixed. The fact that there was a bond there was obvious to Tango. He would no longer interfere so long as his brother remained safe.

"Thank you. I don't know why, it really shouldn't, but it sounds so much more real and feels really good to hear that from you Hip." Amethyst finally raised his head to look Hip in the eyes. The skeleton was much closer than he had first thought, having half crawled over the center cushion to place a hand on his folded knee. When their eyes met though, a dark blue blush quickly spread across Hip's face and he practically flew back to his corner of the couch.

"You're welcome. I meant every word of it. Um, one more question for you, since you didn't really mention it before. Your verse does dance, right? I mean, everyone dances, but I was wondering what your style is?"

"Actually, we don't really dance, not in the way you're thinking. There is one monster, a skeleton who shares some semblance to you, he does pole dancing, but that is his profession, there is also a fish woman and a spider woman who table dance and pole dance at my brother's club. That is about the extent of it. Personally, I have never danced."

"Wait, so, like dancing isn't a thing there? I know you said that a universe's name described its basis, but a world without dancing is unthinkable!" Hip jumped up suddenly and ran to grab Tango and tell him about the horror of a world without dance, almost knocking them both into the oven as Tango was putting the tray in at that moment. "He's never danced! How can a monster go their whole life without dancing!" he ranted to Tango as he recovered himself and even Tango was bowled over by the news.

"THIS MUST BE RECTIFIED AT ONCE! TO THE STUDIO!" Declared Tango, pointing directly up as if he would just blast through the floor into the room.

Amethyst flinched but couldn't help but smiling at the antics of the brothers. He jumped a little when Hip suddenly appeared right next to him.

"Come on. We gotta fix this now! You can't live your whole life and not know how to dance. It is just not natural!" Before Amethyst could even start to stand, Hip had grabbed his hand and started dragging him to the steps. The skeleton was a lot stronger than he looked and nearly pulled him right off the couch and onto his face.

"Alright, alright. I'm coming. It's honestly not that big a deal." He laughed as he followed to avoid being dragged.

"IT MOST CERTAINLY IS A BIG DEAL. TO NOT KNOW HOW TO DANCE IS AN ABSOLUTE TRAVESTY AND MUST BE CORRECTED. ONE MUST RELEASE THE RHYTHYM IN THEIR SOUL OR THEY WILL NEVER FIND THEIR TRUE MUSE AND BALANCE!" Tango explained from directly behind him, making Amethyst jump once more.

He hadn't had monsters get so close to him unexpectedly so often in a long time. He just couldn't get his guard up here and they kept surprising him with their easy gait. They were not on guard at all and it put him completely off guard and off balance.

In short order the three of them where in the studio. "So how is this gonna work? I've seen you dance and I know I can't move like that." Amethyst directed his question to Hip, as he had been the friendliest insofar and the skeleton was still holding his hand.

"That's fine. You have to find the song that resonates with you and follow its flow, that will direct your flow. In the meantime we can try to show and teach you different styles. Maybe that will help you figure out your dance." Hip gave him a reassuring hand squeeze then released his hand and looked between them all. "Maybe you should try to dance with him bro. You are closer to his height than I am."

"VERY WELL. THEN I SHALL START WITH MY OWN FORM OF DANCE. I PRACTICE THE LATIN FORM OF DANCE. I WILL GO SLOW TO START AND YOU TRY TO COPY MY MOVEMENTS. YOU WILL KNOW IF IT IS RIGHT IN YOUR SOUL WHEN YOU FIND YOUR DANCE." Tango nodded and took up his starting position.

Amethyst tried to emulate it, and after a few seconds finally had a posture that somewhat matched it, but he was way too stiff for it to work. This was proven a few steps in when he tripped over his own feet and face planted. Hip couldn't stop from falling over laughing and kicking his feet in the air as he rolled on the floor.

"Man, that is definitely not your style. Sorry bro, looks like you're staying a solo dancer still." He continued cracking up for a few more seconds then shot up suddenly. "Dude, we got a fire elemental, bet'cha he might be able to point ya in the right direction. He is also the top instructor in town. Wha'da'ya say bro, wanna try 'im?"

"I SUPPOSE. NO USE TRYING TO TEACH DANCES WE DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW." Tango shrugs as he helps Amethyst back to his feet carefully.

"Awesome, let's go!" Hip jumped over as Amethyst finally got his bearings once more, the fall having discombobulated him.

Before Amethyst could even ask what this other flame's dance was, he found himself tripping over his feet as the whole world seemed to shift and his surroundings suddenly changed. This time he only hit a knee, but it knocked the wind out of him all the same. Under him was what looked like polished hardwood flooring and the area was well lit. When he looked around, he noted many large windows allowing the area to be naturally illuminated. On one side of the studio, the children and the human all stood staring at them. He gave them a wan smile as he struggled to get air back into himself.

"Hey kiddos, seen the fireman around? I got a new student for 'im." Hip asked as he rubbed circles on Amethyst's back.

"He went into the back to get us a balance bar. Hip, is he okay. Tango made us go away when he showed up earlier and he seems dangerous." The human asked.

"Oh, he's fine. He's just winded from the teleport. Give him a few minutes and he'll be right as rain." He cast a glance down at Amethyst, who could only raise a brow at his choice of wording. "Well, maybe not rain, but, eh…" he cut off suddenly as an orange flame dressed rather smartly stepped into the room from one of the doors in the corners. "Hey hot stuff, got ya a new student. Never danced a step in 'is life and don't know what his soul's rhythm is."

"Hmmm, looks more like he needs a rest than a new step. Why don't you give the guy some space Hip." Scolded the other as he set down the balance bar for the children and evaluated his new 'student'.

"Huh?" Hip finally took a look at Amethyst and realized how low his flames had gotten and saw that his HP had halved. It had been fine at the house though. "Sh-, man, I'm sorry. I didn't know you couldn't 'port." He looked to the trainer. "Markis, you got anything that can help him out. This is my fault, put it on my tab."

Markis was already there and pulled a bag of dried items from his pocket. "They don't taste great, but they should help you out friend." He offered a few leaves and bits of bark to Amethyst.

"Thanks." Was the huffed response as Amethyst took the offered supplies and downed them. They improved his health a quarter, but no more. It was enough for him to get to his feet and breathe with little difficulty though.

"I don't think you will be doing any sort of dance step today. I don't want to chance you hurting yourself further. You're in pretty rough condition."

Amethyst cut him off. "I'm fine now. Whatever that stuff was that you gave me really helped. I've been in worse situations, but I've never taken a hit like that before. It took me for a loop is all."

Markis looked him over once more and then noticed his LOVE and EXP. I suppose you have. If you think you can handle some steps, then we will try. Just don't push yourself. You won't impress anybody by dusting yourself here."

"No worries pal. I won't dust here. I've got too much to do to be dusting just yet." With that said, Amethyst pushed himself up to his feet, putting him easily a few inches over the other.

"Then let's get started. Are there dances you already know you can't do or do not feel right for you?" Markis looked him over once more, already discarding several that he could tell this monster would be incapable of performing just with his body type and gender.

"Well, I can't do the style Hip or his brother do, and I am sure not doing what the girl over there is doing." He motioned to the human doing ballet. "I think something a bit slower and measured would probably be my pace, if that is even a thing."

"Well, there are a few dances of that style, normally they are meant to be done in groups though. I have an idea of one that would fit you." He looked to Hip, "If I may?"

Hip stepped back, an arm at his waist as he bowed and stepped back. "He is all yours."

Amethyst shook his head at Hips antics, then just barely held back swinging as Markis grabbed his hip and got right up close to him. The way the other froze told Amethyst that he had read his tensing and knew just what had almost happened. "A little warning next time please." Amethyst growled as he forced himself to relax. These monsters where not looking to hurt him. He had to remember that.

"Forgive me. I'm not used to such _jumpy_ individuals. I will work with you as best I can, but please try to do the same with me. We don't want trouble here."

They were still way too close for Amethyst's comfort, but he just nodded, knowing he had agreed to be taught this. Dancing was what ran this world, so knowing something about it would be good for him if he was going to be coming back at all. If the attraction he was feeling toward Hip was any inclination, he would definitely be back.

Once Amethyst had finally relaxed enough, Markis moved his hands to rest on his own hip and then took his other hand and placed it on his shoulder. He mirrored the arrangement and took the lead, taking a step back and counting to four, a number for every step. By the end of the second count, Amethyst found himself leading and humming a tune he had never heard before that matched their steps, at points even adding a few as he would spin the other or be spun by them. After a few minutes, it felt right to end the tune and so he did, and as he did so, released his hold on Markis and stepped back, finishing with a quarter bow. Markis mirrored him even in this.

"It would seem your form is the waltz my friend. It is quite rare for that particular form to show up. And I don't think I'm wrong in thinking you found your soul rhythm as well. Congratulations. Feel free to come by anytime and I can help you learn more advanced forms, for a fee of course, and help you develop more as a dancer." Markis smiled at him, and like everything else here, it seemed genuine.

"Thank you. Where I come from, we don't typically dance, but I think I would like to do it more. It was quite enjoyable." Amethyst couldn't keep from smiling and nodded his head in thanks. A smattering of applause started up behind him and he turned around to see all the kids watching him and Hip leaning against the wall smiling. They were all clapping, then broke up to talk to each other, some of the younger trying out the same steps themselves, but he found he could see their missteps, but didn't mind. They were children. The human came up to him then.

"Congrats. I wasn't too sure about you when you first came, but you aren't too bad. I'm Dolilda, but everyone calls me Doll. I prefer it too." She looked from him over to Hip, who had gone to help one of the younger kids doing freestyle, then back to him. "Welcome to the family. You don't know it yet, but you are one of us now." With that she gave him a hug and went back to helping keep the kids in line.

"So no dancing where you're from. Must be a depressing place." Mused Markis.

"In some ways yes, in other ways it is just a bit too active. I'd rather not talk about it." Replied Amethyst, neither of them looking at the other.

"As you wish."

Amethyst stepped away from him then, and walked over to Hip. Almost instantaneously Hip responded, turning to look up to him. "Heading back?" Asked Hip.

"Yeah, I need to make sure my brother gets up in time for work and I left some unfinished chores back home. How about this. I'll give you my number. I don't know if it will work through the portal, but when we are in the same verse it should. I could call you when I drop by? I unfortunately wouldn't recommend you coming by my verse."

"I understand. Sounds good." They traded numbers and bid each other a good rest of the day.

As the brothers' house came into view, Amethyst decided to stop in and let Tango know how things had gone since they had left so abruptly. Before he could though, the door opened.

"SO HOW DID IT GO?" he asked, hands on hips and a kiss the cook apron on that brought a smirk back to Amethyst's face.

"I've been deemed a waltz form apparently and Doll says I'm now part of the family, whatever that means. Figured I'd stop by and let you know since you helped as well. I'm on my way home at the moment or I would stay and chat some. Perhaps next time?"

"THAT SOUNDS LIKE A SPLENDID IDEA, THANK YOU FOR STOPPING. IF DOLL SAYS YOU ARE FAMILY, YOU ARE WELCOME BY ANY TIME YOU WOULD LIKE. I'M GLAD YOU FOUND YOUR FORM SO QUICKLY. MAY LIFE GET BETTER EVERY DAY FOR YOU." They shook hands and Amethyst made his way to the portal, and back home.

As it happened, Teal was in fact still asleep and got his ass kicked out of bed. "You're going to be late for opening your own club you fucking hornball!" being his wake-up call from Amethyst when he was found sleeping with Sugar Plum's unwashed uniform once again.


	18. Finding Oneself

Chapter 16 – Finding Oneself, then Getting Lost

The sound of a tsundere plane passing overhead woke Nightmare from a fitful sleep. Looking around it took him a few minutes to remember all of the events from the day before. Looking over to the couch where Blaster looked about ready to fall off, he barely contained a snigger. The other looked a bit comical with a single long claw wedge between his fangs, sucking on it as his other hand was caught on a thread on the carpet. His tail looked to be wedged rather uncomfortably between his fibula and tibia. How it had even gotten between them Nightmare didn't want to think. Getting up from his makeshift nest, he did a quick check to make sure that nothing was out of place or had deteriorated. When all seemed fine, if a little damp from his tentacles he heaved a wet gurgle of a sigh of relief and made his way back to the bathroom to clean his teeth and get ready for the day. After so long in the void where he hadn't been able to do these menial chores, it was a great feeling to be able to take care of himself again. The shower the night before had been pure ecstasy for him. Hearing a shriek from downstairs, he teleported quickly.

The scene in the living room was rather confusing at first. There were too many moving bones to keep track of. What was very obvious was that Blaster had finally fallen off the couch and had a very abrupt and rude awakening when he came in contact with the floor. His tail was no longer threaded through his leg, which was good, but the horn-like tips of his skull had become entangled in some loose threads that resulted from the deterioration of the couch the day before. Blaster was trying to get the strings off his horns, but his claws either just sliced them or smacked the apparently sensitive protrusions. Nightmare couldn't help but laugh, causing Blaster to yelp and jump away from him, not having noticed his reappearance in the room. The strangled drowning sound of Nightmare's laughter wasn't exactly comforting either.

"Well I'm glad you find this funny!" he snapped at his black companion.

"Sorry, sorry. Want some help?" wheezed Nightmare, a faint gurgling still present as he stifled giggles.

Blaster had to suppress a shiver at the sound of Nightmare's voice. "I don't really have a choice, do I? These claws are pretty useless for manipulation I am finding." He flexed them, glaring at his fingertips.

"You'll figure them out, I'm sure." Assured Nightmare as he made his way over, just missing stepping on the swaying tail that whipped around on the floor.

"Huh" was the only reply he got. In the meantime, Blaster tried to get his feet untangled from each other and his toes straightened out. In his flailing, the claws on his feet had jammed together and were pretty snug.

When Nightmare got close, he could see that the horns on Blaster were a little serrated on the back, which was how the strings had gotten caught and why they were holding on so stubbornly. He began gently pulling the strands away, going with the serration so he wouldn't cause Blaster any more irritation. He couldn't stop the smirk that came to his face when he noticed how the other was struggling with his feet though

He remembered when he had first woken with his tentacles. They had caught on everything, dirt, leaves, and every manner of thing they met would stick to their slick surface as they had dragged. It had taken quite a while to develop the muscles so that he could keep them up and actually use them for anything.

In Blaster's case, he just needed to relearn how to do things, not necessarily master a whole new set of limbs. After a few minutes all the strings had been removed and Blaster finally freed his feet from one and other. Nightmare offered a hand to help his new friend up and although it was hesitant, Blaster took it. With his claws being so long, his hand seemed to dwarf Nightmare's. Nightmare didn't think twice about it and carefully pulled Blaster to his feet. Immediately Blaster stumbled and had to catch himself with his other hand on Nightmare's shoulder. His tail was whipping in every direction, trying to figure out how to balance while his too long toes almost over-balanced him and threw him down once more.

"Easy now." Nightmare calmly told him. He let one of his tentacles reach behind Blaster and still his tail. Whipping it around like that would do no good at all. "Try to breathe and calm down. You can do this." He told him. Nightmare rubbed absently over the fingers of the hand he held in his own. In the past day he had had more contact, physical and mental, with others than he had experience his entire life. Maybe when he had first been born he had had some contact, but it hadn't lasted long enough for him to remember. The contact was nice. As he rubbed his phalanges over the claws in his hand, he noticed an inconsistency. Looking over at the hand and raising it carefully so he could look closer, he noticed what looked like several small cracks or breaks in the bone. As Blaster tried to tighten his grasp to maintain his balance with the movement, the claws extended a miniscule amount before sliding back, seeming to grow and extend from these cracks. "Hey, Blaster, I think I may have found a solution to your claws getting in the way. Have you tried retracting them?" he asked.

"Retracting, what do you mean?" he was still looking at his feet as he tried to figure out how to stand.

"Look here, on your fingers." Nightmare drew his attention to the cracks. "The bone seems to slide together here, it extended then shrank back when you gripped my hand. I figure if it can extend, maybe it can retract. If you can retract your claws, then maybe you will be able to do stuff again." He explained.

Blaster looked at the cracks, interested in this new information. He had been so consumed with how useless he was as he was that he hadn't even stopped to consider there was a way to fix it. His first thought was how to adapt to it. He flexed his hand and watched as indeed the claws extended at the cracks just like they would have bent if it had been a knuckle. He relaxed his hand and the claws pulled back to the length they had been before he had flexed. He tried to flex them toward the back of his hand as if to lift a claw. Instead of lifting, the claw indeed retracted. Once it retracted to the point it was no longer than his phalanges had once been, then he could lift it very slightly. He relaxed the claw once more and it re-extended.

"Well, that is going to be a pain to get used to." He grumbled.

"But at least you know it's possible. I bet you can do the same with your feet. That would make it easier to walk too probably." Gurgled Nightmare in a laugh.

Just to test the theory, Blaster lifted all of his toes in unison. Sure enough they all retracted and instantly he felt more balanced, though not completely. He carefully took a step back from Nightmare, not willing to admit that he was just a bit glad to release the other. He was still wobbly, and the strain on his toes was distracting, but he was able to stand upright on his own.

Slowly Nightmare released Blaster's tail. He had caught it while it had been raised and so had held it there, once released though, it swung to hang down, following the natural line of Blaster's spine and curving back up near the end to miss the floor. Once it was release, the amount of balance Blaster regained was noticeable as his stiff posture relaxed and instead of a wide stance, he was able to shift into a more comfortable standing position. He twisted to look at his tail and grinned. Maybe this would all work out after all.

"Do you want to try to get yourself around and I'll put together a breakfast for us and we can get restarted on the data we have or wait until Dae gets back with what she took with her?"

"Go ahead and start on breakfast. I'm going to try walking and getting used to this." Blaster was well and truly absorbed in the art of his body now that it had been pointed out to him.

Nightmare shrugged and made his way into the kitchen to see what he could scavenge and make into an edible breakfast for the two of them. He found Tem flakes in one cupboard, and assorted types of crackers and noodles in another. Checking the fridge pulled up cheese and some unidentifiable items. Not wanting to rummage too much, Nightmare settled for grabbing a couple different kinds of crackers and the cheese. It would hold them for now and they could continue to munch as they worked until Daedarath got back with the data she had taken with her. He grabbed a platter that happened to be sitting on the counter, brushing off what looked like dust into the sink. Turning to grab the cheese from the fridge, an explosion from the sink sent him flying out of the kitchen, the metal platter following shortly after as it rolled out on its edge. He took a second to let his vision settle then started to push himself to his feet. Glancing to his left he saw Blaster staring at him wide-eyed from where he lay beside the couch, likely having hit the floor upon hearing the explosion.

"What'd you do? I don't think I had any exploding stuff in the cabinets." He choked out.

"I don't know. Just dusted off the tray on the counter. Was gonna bring the food out on that. Figured cheese and crackers. I'm not much of a cook."

With a groan, Blaster's head thunked against the floor. "That wasn't dust. Those were trace amounts of unstable powdered chemicals I was using in some of my research. I'm surprised it only blew up that much."

Nightmare's look of reproach was totally lost on Blaster, but he just sighed and got up. Any other things I should be aware of before I start trying to get food again. I don't need to lose my head here."

"Uh, how about I just come with you. I can't really remember what all I had in there plus Dae was in there yesterday."

"Somehow I don't see her leaving unstable stuff just sitting open on the counter though." Countered Nightmare as he helped Blaster to his feet and allowed him to use his arm to balance himself.

Blaster glared at his houseguest, starting to get irritated. "Well sorry I'm not as clean as her and not used to having company. I normally spend all my time alone and on my own!" Yanking his hand away from Nightmare he managed to correct his balance on his own and somewhat clumsily stormed into his kitchen, leaving Nightmare to stare after him. After a few moments, shuffling and grumbling could be heard, and dishes being moved was audible. "I'll make us something. I'm tired of being useless."

"'Kay." Called Nightmare. Feeling down and knowing it would only affect his surroundings negatively, he forced himself to go out back and try to work on the rubble a bit more. He didn't even notice when the handle to the back door melted in his grip as he opened and closed it. He did, however, notice when the rocks and rubble he tried to move began to disintegrate in his grasp. When he dropped one that actually had become somewhat goopy where his tentacles had been in contact with, he noticed that the goop solidified when it made contact with another rock, effectively melding them together. Looking at his limp tentacles that hung over his shoulders, he gave a depressed laugh. "Guess you are good for something when you are useless in common interaction." He walked past the pieces of wall and rubble that remained in the lab, not much in comparison to when it had first blow up and made his way over to the would-be portal. "Let's see if this works then." He said to himself and laid a tentacle along one of the seams. He was confused when nothing seemed to be happening. Pulling it back he looked at the appendage. "What, you're only going to melt stuff when I don't want you to? Is that it?" he groused at it.

"Well I don't think you are going to get much of an answer out of it, but if you come inside for breakfast I'm sure we can talk about it and maybe figure out how to control when it does melt stuff." Nightmare spun around, completely surprised. Daedarath was leaning against a wall grinning. "Now, if it does start talking, that I want to see and know about. It would bring in a whole new set of variables and problems into the equation."

"You startled me!" he whined even as he made his way over to her and she pushed off of the wall, dusting off her coat.

"Yeah, I gathered as much. Why were you trying to melt your structure though? I mean, I get that it wasn't all that much work for you, but still, this is to try to further science. What do you gain by destroying it? Do you not want to get beyond it?" She accused and sounded a bit upset and betrayed.

"No, nothing like that. I wasn't trying to destroy it at all. I was trying to use the melting properties that keep popping up to try to meld the stones together. Perhaps make it sturdier but also make it one solid piece. I wasn't trying to destroy it." He explained.

"Hmm, not a bad idea, but let's not take chances like that until you have complete control. Kinda like we shouldn't leave Blaster in the kitchen on his own before he learns how to move properly." She hummed.

"Oh please tell me he didn't get himself into trouble already." Groaned Nightmare.

"I found him trying to pull himself out of the oven without putting a hole in the side of it while it was on." She gestured that he lead the way back inside.

"Oh great stars. What was he even trying to make?" Nightmare's tentacles wrapped back around him even as one rubbed at his head as if it hurt from trying to conjure up the mental image.

Laughing, Daederath explained that he had been trying to put together a quiche apparently. "Now, on a different subject. You said that your appendages were melting things again? What upset you this time?"

Nightmare looked up surprised. "Upset me? Why would you ask that?" Sure he had been upset, but how would she know that?

"Well, the last few times that things in your local have been affected you were upset. I mentioned before that I think your emotions play a role in how your miasma affects the environment. The most apparent change is that when you are upset things around you tend to come apart on a molecular level. So it comes to reason that if you were just now realizing that you could 'melt rock'" she finger quoted "you were probably out here brooding and upset and noticed a reaction do to the interaction of your body in its upset state and the rocks you were dealing with. Am I right?"

It took him a few moments of thinking to realize what she was saying was completely correct. It also explained why most of the time when he was around her and Blaster he wasn't destroying his surroundings. He was content, dare he say even happy. "I never really thought about it that way. It was always just a part of me. I destroyed whatever I came in contact with. You really put a lot of thought into this, didn't you?" He looked back at her, just a step behind him with new respect.

"What, all this, hardly. I just observed and put the pieces together. I mean, come on, why else would you leave that problem magnet to make breakfast?" she laughed modestly. "So why were you upset?" suddenly serious and a bit worried once more.

"I accidentally blew up some of the powders he left on the counter and he seemed so mad about it. Then he told me that he would make breakfast himself. I guess it just reminded me of how my own family used to treat me. As if I wasn't really good for anything." He had been reaching for the handle, but let his hand drop. He really wasn't good for anything, was he?

"Well I can tell you that they were absolutely wrong there. You are extremely smart, powerful, and strong. You put up with being alone and ostracized for how long? That take a whole other kind of power and strength than just the physical. And now you are going just another step further and creating a portal that can all but break the universe! Tell me how many of them have done that! None, that's how many. You are worth so much, I wish you could see it." Daederath, who had been abandoned young herself, understood his pain and could sympathize. She didn't want to see him go through it alone and there was also the matter of the blood-chilling feeling that had started to crawl down her spine. It disappeared as she ranted at him and by the time she finished, it was completely gone.

He looked over his shoulder at her and she could see just a slim line of electric blue lining his sockets. "Thanks Dae, I needed that." He turned back to the door and made his way in, holding it open for her to pass. When they made it back into the living room they found Blaster sitting on the couch, arms folded and pouting. Nightmare couldn't help chuckling at the picture even as he remembered how Dae had said she had found him. Instead of picking on him though, he made an offer. "You want to see if we can get any further on this portal stuff?" he wended his way around the couch to sit in the armchair across from him.

"I added some of my own hypotheses in this book. Made copies of the prints I took with me as well." She tossed a leather bound notebook onto the table.

Before Nightmare could lean forward to look, Blaster had already picked it up and started looking through it. At first it looked like he was only skimming it to look busy, but by the second page he was obviously vested in it. He seemed to have figured out his fingers well enough to hold the book for now.

When Nightmare looked up, Daederath was already gone. The smell of food that quickly thickened the air told clearly of where she had gone. Smiling to himself, he got back to writing down the equations, theories, hypotheses, and blueprints as he remembered seeing them in the two worlds that had put together the portals.

They all took a break for breakfast when Daederath brought it out, and again a few hours later when Blaster made his way to the bathroom. He stumbled a few times, but the look on Dae's face had Nightmare drowning in his own laughter. After that, it took them until almost supper time to realize the passage of time. By that time they had all had a chance to look over everything and had a clear idea of how to replicate the portal. The only thing they couldn't figure out was how to predict where they would come out once it was open.

It took another two weeks to finish building it and running all the wires. Once they had it all put together, they just had to supply the power to it. There had been debate on whether or not they should try to use the power of the barrier to try to weaken the barrier along with powering the machine, but after providing the fact that they would then have to make their idea known to others before testing it and the fact that Nightmare was literally a byproduct of trying to circumvent the human magic, they decided to just go with their own magic mixed with science's electricity. After that it should, by theory, sustain itself. It was decided that Nightmare and Blaster would hit it simultaneously with their blasters to provide the amount of energy needed while Daederath turned on the generator. Dae was not happy about it since it involved Blaster blasting something and his track record preceded him, but Nightmare convinced her that it was the only way to get the right amount of energy simultaneously.

So it was, Blaster with his Blaster, which looked similar to himself now, Nightmare with his pitch black Blaster, and Dae, jaw agape beside the generator.

"Dae, snap out of it. Wake up!" yelled Nightmare, hoping to get through to her.

By now he had learned how to channel his fear inducing miasma, although he still couldn't keep it from affecting his surroundings and those around him when he got upset. Blaster had also learned to get around on his own. He still feared going out to the bar on his own though given his different appearance. He didn't want to have to give the explanation of another failure to the rest of the world. Daederath, for her part, had been the crucial part in getting them both to the point they were. She kept Nightmare's spirits up and encourages his experimenting with his abilities while supporting Blaster in his little successes.

Nightmare sent out a small tendril of his miasma to her, getting her attention. "You okay to go ahead with this Dae?" he retracted it once she turned to look at him, at first worried, then relieved.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I still can't believe that my Blaster has something that powerful at his disposal is all." She shook her head and reaffirmed her grip on the lever of the generator.

Nodding, Nightmare met Blaster's gaze and held up a hand, three fingers up in a count down.

Blaster suppressed a shiver as he met the mismatched dead white and electric blue eyes and nodded. He still felt off about the other, but couldn't deny that they had grown closer. He considered the other his friend. Narrowing his focus, he steadied the blaster poised above him and when the last finger dropped, he released the pent up energy at the spot they had agreed to. The sound before was completely silent, now he could feel the thrum in the marrow of his bones as electricity met massive amounts of magic. He held it for a count of three, then release it and dispelled his blaster. He couldn't believe his eyes when before him, through the dust, in the tunnel like structure they had built, a purple shimmering haze filled every gap. He could just see the form of his friend of the other side. He looked to his side where Daederath stood, covering her ear-fins.

Tentatively she removed a hand, then dropped them both when she realized it was silent once more. "Did it work?"

Grinning widely, both skeletons said in unison "Come and see!"

She walked around Nightmare's side and he got to watch as her eyes went wide. "This is so HUGE!" she did a fist pump and danced a few circles in place before grabbing Nightmare and spinning him a few times. Not wanting to leave out Blaster and without releasing Nightmare, she tried to run through the archway to grab him.

Blaster, seeing what was about to happen ran forward yelling to her to stop. They reached the center at the same time and as their hands passed through and touched each other's they found themselves, along with Nightmare in another universe. The snow was dark with Dust and the trees all blackened.

"Now what do we have here?" a gleeful manic voice that none of them recognized asked from behind them.


	19. Between Spaces

Chapter 17 – Between Spaces

Doodlesphere – Ink (Sans) & Error (Sans)

UnderSwap – Berry (Sans), Stretch (Papyrus), Segoe (Gaster)

"Let me out!" screamed the multicolored skeleton from behind the fluorescent green bars that made up his cage.

"Not until you calm down." A bored sigh replied from a couch that rested on air a short distance away.

"I'm fine." Spat the caged skeleton.

"No, you aren't. You are throwing a fit and have already tried breaking several ground rules. You can stay put until you calm down."

The shriek that erupted from the cage proved the second voice correct as it echoed over the empty landscape.

"You were doing so well then you had to go and destroy everything again." The voice, still sounding bored with the whole situation, spoke through the shrieking. "House that _you_ helped build, a nice small bit of land. Even that cat that you thought up. You destroyed it all, just because you could." Annoyance entered their voice. "I really thought you were getting somewhere, dammit." The pencil he had been using snapped in his grip then vanished. Sitting up, Ink buried his head in his hands. "Why? Just tell me why Error." He stood and turned to stare at his counterpart. "Why do you keep destroying everything around you?"

"I don't know." Error was now sitting in his cell, arms crossed and not meeting Ink's stare.

"That's not an answer." Sighed Ink.

"Yeah, well I j-j-j-j-j-j-just d-d-d-don't know." Error rubbed over his mandible. After three syllables he had trouble speaking without breaking and it hurt. Taking a breath, he tried again. "Why my world bro-o-o-oke-e-e-en?" angry tears of yellow formed in his left eye as neon blue ones built up in his right.

"I have tried making you a new world multiple times Error. I can't restore a past reset, I'm sorry" Ink explained with patience. This was an often repeated argument.

"Know. But why?" he snuffled.

"I don't know. I don't control the choices of the humans, or anyone in the worlds I create.

"Good before rese-e-e-e-et." Error hugged himself.

Before the human had reset the world, they had made it to the surface and been doing well it had seemed. He had been teleporting to make a surprise appearance on his brother's show when suddenly the world disappeared and he found himself starring at what looked like his copy, but with a paint brush bigger than himself. The other had looked hopelessly sorrowful and horrified at the same time. That was the beginning of their eternal existence together. Right now, Ink had him trapped in this cage. He had since discovered his body had become glitchy to work with at times and speaking was nearly impossible. He envied and hated that there was a timeline out there somewhere where everyone was enjoying their world completely oblivious of the fact that it could be taken away in the snap of a finger. Might as well wipe them all out now so they don't have to go through the torment of being trapped over and over, but no. Ink wouldn't let him. Ink tried to appease him with things in this empty void space, but it wasn't the same. It wasn't his world and Ink wouldn't let him find where his was so he could destroy it and that damnable human.

A hand suddenly touched his face, causing him to flinch back. His cage bars had disappeared while he was trapped in his memories and Ink had apparently come over. He looked worried. "Sorry. Blipped ou-ou-ou-out for-r-r-r-r a sec." he never spaced out before the accident. Now it happened all the time.

Ink's face eased. "Remembering?"

Error only nodded.

Ink reached out and this time Error didn't flinch away as he was drawn into a comforting hug. "I wish I could restore you to your world. I really do. I know I'm not great company." He fell silent and rubbed Error's arms.

Error curled into him. Ink was the only one who could safely touch him without negative effects. He had visited a world once and when he had come into contact with that world's version of himself, he had had a panic attack and the entire universe collapsed, but not before depositing him right back here.

Since then the two of them had fought often, but also grown closer. Error knew he was a danger to the other verses and when he wasn't on a raging rampage he liked watching them drift over what could almost count as a sky here. They were like the stars to this universe. When Ink didn't decorate his own space, the edges were definite and the void space was visible. Error didn't know how to access the void space and that was likely why Ink stored all the universes there, but when he was initially building them they existed inside his universe. It was then that they were in danger from Error's lapses in sanity. Ink had almost finished his latest creation before Error had lost it and destroyed everything within this sphere of existence again.

"Ink, can we g—g-g-g-go som-m-m-mewhe-e-e-e-re?" Error asked. He knew that he was a danger to other verses and he had just essentially wiped this one, but now he wanted to be around others. It wasn't something he desired often.

"I can make a place, if that is what you are asking." His voice was guarded, and with good reason. Error shook his head. "You want to go to another universe? After what you just pulled here?" Hesitantly Error nodded his head. "Absolutely not. I am not taking you out so you can wipe out more worlds. It takes a lot of time and effort to put these places together Error. I can't chance us going out, especially after what you just pulled. I thought you might have been getting better…" he trailed off, but his tight grip on Error's arm showed how distressed he was.

"Sorry. Felt change." He took a breath. He was finding a deep breath helped unbreak his speech. "Break in worlds. Something wrong."

"Yeah. I've noticed it too. Somehow a few of them have figured out how to make a rift between each other. I haven't stopped it, but I'm afraid of what it means for some of them."

"Rift between?" Error's interest peaked.

"Yeah. They've begun passing from their own universe that is specifically designed for them into others where they were never meant to be. I designed a few universes as really bad places just because I wasn't feeling so hot. If they get linked to some of the others, it could honestly have a worse impact than if you went and had an attack in one."

That made Error sit up abruptly. "Worse than me?" His eyes were wide. "Impos-ss-s-s-s-sible."

With a dark laugh, Ink explained, "You aren't the only one with a real dark streak Error. Remember, I'm the one who designs each of these worlds and the physics that run them. All the possibilities that exist are possible because I chose to allow them. I didn't think it would happen, but even your predicament was a parameter I put into the worlds.

"I know. Still want go." Error explained.

"No." Ink replied, deadpanning.

"You come please?" he asked.

"You are not going anywhere and I don't want to go anywhere. Besides, if I did want to go somewhere I could just create that place and visit here."

"Not the same. Want go out." Error grumbled looking directly at Ink now.

"We are not leaving this universe Error." Ink's tone became more demanding. He knew that Error had the ability to leave this universe, just as he did. If Error really wanted to leave he could, but Ink would have to follow and would end up dragging him back. The result could be the destruction of more worlds.

"You no fun!" Error shoved away from him and walked over the white floor-like surface that provided an x-axis for this universe at the moment.

"It has nothing to do with whether I am fun or not Error, and you know that." Ink tried to convince him.

"Want others. Company" Error had to take a breath between, but managed to get the words out.

"I can't make others here Error. It could cause me trouble with my creations." Ink explained exasperated.

"That why go!" Error shot back.

"NO! We are not leaving." Ink had stood as well and stamped his foot.

That's when Error noticed something very important. Ink had left his brush on the couch. Without his brush he was virtually powerless. It was the limit that he had since he was able to do so much. Without it, he couldn't do anything. He made his decision in an instant. Raising a hand he summoned his threads and bound Ink.

"We go out!" he demanded.

"Let me go!" shouted Ink as he fell over on his butt. The threads continued wrapping around him until he was wrapped up like a mummy, only his head wasn't wrapped, leaving him free to talk. "I don't want to go out and I don't need you going out." He squirmed.

Error laughed, a very disjointed sound. "Look like worm!"

"Why you!" Ink squirmed even more, determined to get loose and get his brush. Just as he almost got loose though, Error noticed.

"No no."

With a chuckle he pulled open the side of their universe, creating a portal much like the ones that Gaster and Spike or the monsters from Alchemytale had created and stepped through to a universe he had been watching for a while just because everyone was a bit different than they seemed in most of the other realms. Everywhere else was similar in most aspects. Here everything was backwards.

He walked through, dragging Ink by the feet behind him. The second he crossed through and felt the cold chill of snow on his bones, he shivered. A slew of Error messages read across his body as he tried to keep up with the sudden change in sensory input, then calmed as he let himself acclimate, then continued forward. By the time Ink was pulled through he had just managed to get his arms free and had almost managed to grasp his brush, just to be pulled out of reach, then out of his realm.

The second Ink felt the cold of the snow hit his femurs, then spine, then skull, he started shrieking. "No nononononono! Error release me this minute!"

"Okay." Error grinned, his mismatched teeth bright against his black skull. As he released his magic that held Ink, he also release the magic that had opened the gate that brought them here. He could take them back to Ink's universe whenever he wanted. Now he wanted to walk around.

Ink got up and dusted the snow off of himself then ran after Error. "Not cool. We gotta go back now!" he whisper yelled at Error, who proceeded to ignore him, but was grinning wider than he had since Ink couldn't remember.

"Hey, I don't recognize you. Whoa, you look like me. Who are you? I am the Sansational Sans," a Sans ran up introducing himself in a very bubbly manner.

Error finished his introduction in perfect unison with him, other than his glitched speech. "but you can ca-a-a—all me-e-e-e Be-e-e-er-r-r-ry." He giggled

Confusion crossed Berry's face. "I know I don't know you, do I?"

Ink pulled on Error's sleeve while looking very anxious. "Error, please."

Error ignored Ink's pleas and grinned at Berry. "Nope, I watch. You are fun. You be friend?" he offered a multi-colored hand.

Ink pounced on his arm just a Berry went to meet the handshake. Berry gave Ink a confused look.

"Ah, okay. I don't know what is up with you." Berry told Ink. He looked a bit affronted as well.

Error also addressed Ink. "Not break them." He looked upset, glaring a little at Ink.

"How do you know you won't break them?" Demanded Ink looking square into Error's eyes.

"I just do." Replied Error shrugging.

"Ah, what do you mean, break?" Berry asked, completely confused.

Ink turned around, to try and explain. "Well, you see, we are not from this universe. There are multiple universes and my friend here has accidentally and purposefully erased quite a few of those. Heh heh." Ink anxiously gripped the paint wrap he always wore. He wasn't used to interacting with anybody. It had taken quite a while for him to even be able to talk to Error normally.

"I knew it!" Berry thumped a fist into his palm. "There are multiple universes! I gotta tell my dad!"

"Wait!" Ink called after him.

Berry pauses, spinning and bouncing in place. "Yeah?"

"What is this universe called? I know of a few that it could be but I'm not certain where he brought me." Ink asked quietly.

"Oh, right. This is Underswap! Oooooh, I can't wait to tell dad!" with that Berry was off, tearing through the snow toward the house that Ink normally designed specifically for the skele-brothers when he designed the worlds.

Ink would have paled if he could. Underswap, a world that had not been touched by the anomaly that had been creating rifts between the universes yet, and they had just rifted in because Error was _bored_. He looked behind him to scold his companion only to find him absent.

Error for his part was entirely too entertained by how easily Ink had been distracted. Once he had looked away Error had made a beeline for the pastry shop. The fire elemental there seemed to always be really happy and talkative whenever Error would watch him in the universe sphere.

Looking around, Ink realized he had absolutely no idea where Error had gotten to, so he decided to follow Berry. No point in wandering around alone even if he knew that his was one of the safest universes he had designed. He walked up to the porch and ended crossing paths with the Papyrus for this universe.

"Ah, Stretch, right? I think that's what they call you, right?" Ink tried to remember aloud. He honestly hadn't looked at this universe in forever.

"Huh, sure whatever." He looked really out of it and was smoking something that smelled noxious.

"Ew, what is that. It stinks." Ink waved the smoke away from his face.

"But feels real good. It's weed, wanna taste?" He offered the blunt.

"No thanks." Ink shrunk away from Stretch. He didn't think that a Papyrus in any of his worlds would stoop to drugs, but he supposed if the multitude of the Sanses resorted to alcohol then this wasn't so different and as the universe he had made as an inverse, it did make sense for the Papyrus to be like any of the other Sanses.

Stretch snorted in laughter. "It's honestly not that bad." Then he noticed Ink's direction. "You a friend of my bro or da?" he asked and placed the blunt back between his teeth and buried his hands in his hoodie.

"Sorta. I was just gonna go talk to your brother." Ink wasn't sure how to act or respond to anything that was being thrown at him.

"Go right ahead. He is happy to talk to just about anybody. Don't mention you saw me though. Don't need him to know that I'm slacking again." He wandered off toward the river that ran out back of town.

Ink watched him uncertainly for a few minutes until he was out of sight and then went up the steps and knocked on the door. He was glad he had taken a step back as it suddenly blew out, banging against the house as it flew completely open with the amount of enthusiasm that as put into just opening. In front of him stood what appeared to be the Gaster of this world.

"Oh my! Berry you weren't kidding! He does look so much like you! Come in, come in." The skeleton ushered Ink in without even giving him a second to be able to say anything. "Berry was just telling me about you and how you are from another universe. How cool is that!" He was very expressive with his entire body, going from leaning down to Ink and gripping his shoulders to speak face to face, to going in the complete opposite direction and jutting his hips out and leaning backward with arms thrown wide. "Well, you must tell us all about yourself and what it is like where you are from. Oh! Where are my manners, I am Segoe, a very great pleasure it is to meet you." He pumped Ink's hand in a hearty handshake.

Ink tried to take in this new person and had some difficulty. His eyes were two different bright colors, one orange and the other blue and when he talked, which was almost nonstop, his tongue was visible and matched his eyes. It was visually disorienting. He was ushered to a couch to sit on and Segoe practically threw himself into the armchair opposite to settle and wait with nervous energy for the tale of this other verse to unfurl. Ink, put on spot, found himself quite tongue tied.

From the kitchen came the voice of Berry, "Dad, give him some room to breathe." He came out carrying a tray laden with bowls full of ingredients for tacos and different types of shells and wraps and set it on the table between the two and sat on the couch beside Ink. "Help yourself to some of my famous tacos. Make it however you want." He offered and began making his own.

"Um, o-okay." Ink watched how Berry built his and copied him, not really sure how to make it properly. He may be able to create worlds, but what the worlds did with the near limitless possibilities he gave them, he didn't really know what would happen and didn't look into it too much. This was his first time actually experiencing life as it was lived in the worlds he created. It was nice in an overbearingly happy sort of way. Was this what Error's world had been like? He tried the food and couldn't believe how good it was. "Woah! This is amazing Berry!"

Berry blushed a very obvious cyan but said nothing as his own mouth was full with taco.

"Tacos are my boy's specialty." Gushed Segoe between bites.

"So in this universe, you are Sans and Papyrus, or rather Berry and Stretch's father?" asked Ink, slowly coming out of his shell to ask questions. He was still worried about what Error was up to, but he wouldn't be able to leave until Error deemed he was ready to leave.

"That's right." Segoe nodded and gave a thumbs up with a free hand. If both hands had been free Ink had a feeling that both would have given a thumbs up. "Am I not their father elsewhere?" he looked a bit worried about that.

"Well, no. In some verses you are their brother, others you have no relation to them, and in some you are not even around anymore. Either something happened or you were not all that nice towards them and either someone or they themselves killed you off. Kinda grim really, but I never thought much about how the one I designed would feel over all I guess." Ink was finally realizing that he was creating living, thinking being when he created these worlds. He also forgot that he was actually talking to others and the last part was said mostly to himself.

Now Segoe got a confused look and the relation between him and youngest son, Berry became very obvious as it was almost identical to the one Berry had worn earlier. Berry was also giving his full attention and seemed a bit at a loss as well. "What do you mean?" Segoe asked, strangely subdued as he tried to think. The only sign of his normal energy was a rapidly tapping finger that he wasn't even aware of.

Ink jumped, surprised. "Ah, well, that is, er. I sort of create the universes?" he shrunk into himself, not sure if admitting his hobby was an appropriate answer.

"You mean you created all this?" exploded Berry in awe as his normally circular eye-lights burst into stars.

Flinching from the exuberance, Ink just nodded.

"That is AWESOME!" Berry and Segoe said in perfect time.

Uncurling from the ball he had curled up into, Ink finally began to relax and tell about what he did and how he would normally do it.

In the meantime, Error had found the pastry shop, known in most other verses as the bar in Snowdin. He slipped in, his presence announced by the tinkling of a bell near the top of the door. The walls all had torches lining them and each one had decoration in the semblance of different pastries molded into the metal brackets. Skipping around dusting nonexistent dust from surfaces was a small green elemental. Upon hearing the bell she turned and chirped with delight and ran into the back, presumably to get the shopkeeper, who Error knew from watching, was her father. Shortly after a taller and slightly chubby Grillby made his way out from the back with an apron on that read "Gotta make the donuts." And a picture of said pastry illustrated beneath it.

"Welcome." Grillby crackled with a chuckle as he patted his daughter, who now bounced beside him. "Can we get you anything today?"

It was then that Error realized a very major mistake. He had no gold. He hadn't needed it in his universe at the time it had been destroyed and Ink never required it in his world and didn't let Error out to places that he would need it. "Sample please?" he asked.

"A sample? Are you insinuating that my creations would be sub-par buddy!?" He growled, completely insulted that someone would dare think such a thing of his perfect works of art.

"No! No gold. Sorry. No insult." Error tried to explain in short sentences so he wouldn't glitch out his speech pattern.

"Hmph, so you are no better than the average beggar. None too smart either apparently. If you aren't going to buy anything, I must ask you to leave or else I will assist you to the door." The elemental no longer seemed cheery or friendly. He wasn't anything like what Error expected him to be like.

"You rude mise-e-e-e-r-r-r." he stamped a foot and glared. Then he turned to start toward the door.

Insulted and horrified by the impairment of the strange looking skeleton, Grillby reacted violently. "Why you useless excuse of a piece of trash. Get OUT!"

Error glanced behind him and that was all that saved him as he dodged the fireball and made a quick exit from the shop. It was very different here than he had expected. He no longer wanted to be here. Recognizing the feelings in him and determined to show Ink he could be allowed out, he checked the string he had secretly attached to Ink's soul and traced him back to the house of the house that was designated for the skeleton family. He didn't bother knocking as this was equally his house as theirs, even if in a different universe, and walked right in. The laughter that had been quite loud before cut off immediately.

"You're an interesting looking fellow. Would you be the other who came with this one?" Segoe gestured to Ink.

Ink's eyes went wide at Segoe's comment on Error's appearance. It was a very sore subject.

Error messages rapidly flashed over Error's body as he tried to control and contain his anger. "Le-e-e-eav-v-v-ve n-n-no-o-ow." Error ground out looking directly at Ink. With his heightened emotions, controlling his voice became harder.

"O-of course. Whatever you say Error!" Ink jumped off the couch and nudged past Berry.

"What's wrong with his voice?" asked Segoe innocently.

"Dad, be nice!" scolded Berry. He could tell something was wrong, very wrong.

Before Ink could finish navigating around the table in the middle of the room, bright blue strings appeared around him, effectively trapping him if he had wanted to flee.

"Hey!" Berry shouted, thinking that for some reason Error was attacking their new friend. He leapt to try and break the strings, but before he could, a large black gap appeared in their living room wall and Ink was flung via the strings through. Error followed, as he stepped through and pulled the edges shut, only his neon bones and eyes could be distinguished. Then the rift was gone and Berry was left standing in the middle of the room with his summoned blue bone and Segoe's jaw was hanging open in complete disbelief. They looked at each other then back at the wall. "They really were from somewhere else." Stated Berry. Hearing it as a story and seeing them disappear like that were two very different things and it made the whole thing a lot more real for both father and son.

Looking back at each other, they said in unison. "That is so COOL!" and fist pumped then did a jig around their living room.

When Stretch arrived later they were still dancing and carrying on about visitors from another universe. "You guys sure you didn't mix my herbs in with that taco seasoning?

The scowl from his father just made him shrug even as he ignored indignant denial. He made his way up the stairs, then paused halfway up. "By the way, there is something weird happening in the backyard, and before you ask, no it isn't one of my hallucinations." Having nothing else to share, he finished the short trek to his room and slipped inside quietly.

Berry shrugged it off. Sure, Stretch said it wasn't one of his imaginings, but so were the pink birds that had filled the sink. Berry didn't put much stock in anything his brother said, even if he did love him very much. There was also the fact that he had stunk to the stars of his drugs when he had walked by. He set about cleaning up the leftovers from the tacos.

Segoe on the other hand, put a bit more stock in his son's words. Recently Stretch had become more withdrawn and rarely spoke to his family. Maybe he really had seen something. "I'm going to go check what it is that Stretch saw." He let Berry know and got up to go put on his snow boots, big fluffy things that were more suited to an artic clown than anything else.

"You won't find anything." Sighed Berry. He remembered when his brother hadn't been high all the time. Stretch used to actually play and occasionally cook with him before he had found his drugs and become addicted.

"Maybe not, but I won't discount his words. He talks to us to rarely anymore." Segoe replied sadly, remembering the same memories.

Behind a closed door on the floor above, Stretch wished he had the strength to tell his father and brother how much he loved them, but the scathing looks and disbelief his brother offered him kept him from doing so. He knew he put his family through the ringer with his addictions, but they brought a small amount of comfort to him when he remembered the children he had killed for the Queen. They helped him forget temporarily. He didn't want his happy and innocent father and brother to know about that part of his job. Curled up with his back to the door, he cried silently and waited for the last blunt to finally kick in and take away his reality for a short time.

When Segoe came back from checking the yard, he was quiet.

"Nothing there, was there?" snorted a scornful Berry. He hated those damn drugs and what they did to his brother.

"No, there is something there. He was lucid. He spoke to us and we brushed him off. How could I?" Segoe collapsed into his chair and felt empty. He had thought he was still being supportive of his son, but now, when he should have accepted, he had taken it with a grain of salt. He had become numb to his own son. What kind of father was he?

After a few minutes Berry came out of the kitchen and was horrified to find his father bawling into his hands and mumbling to himself. "I'll give him a piece of my mind." Berry's eye flashed with his fury until his arm was caught by his father.

"Leave him be. Go look for yourself." He said between hiccups.

Confused, Berry went and check the backyard. He couldn't make sense of what he saw. Floating in the yard was some sort of swirling distortion. It wasn't like the break that Ink's companion had made, but it had the same feel.

Uncertain, he went closer to try and get a better look at it. In the back of his mind he wished he could have believed his brother. Wished that he would be happier and more like himself and wish his father was stronger and better able to support them so that his brother wouldn't have to work so hard when he wasn't slacking.

He was right next to it, but still not able to understand anything about whatever this was. He put a hand against it and it went right through as if nothing were there. The air looked weird but seemed to act like nothing had changed. He walked through it himself, then back. Repeating the process several times, he didn't see any difference from one side or the other. Shrugging, he made his way back around the house and walked back inside. He completely missed the lack of bright lights on the eves.

The second he stepped inside he knew something was off. The furniture was wrong and the one snoring in the chair looked weirdly like himself. On the couch was a human pass-out. He immediately passed out from shock.


	20. Author's Getting Lost!

Chapter 18 – Author's Getting Lost!

Alright readers. Time for another word vomit that yal can skip if you're keeping up alright. For those of you losing track of who is where and what time it is, I'm gonna try and break it down here. I'll admit that even I am starting to lose track 'cause of the breaks I keep taking from writing and with life so busy and haywire it's just not working.

A few of you have asked how long certain characters have been places because I haven't touched on them in a while. Well, to be honest, the reason it has been a while is because I don't want to focus exclusively on one set of characters. I also don't want to make chapters too too long. (Yes I meant to use two toos there.)

I try to set a minimum of four thousand words per chapter, but I don't want too much beyond that either. Personally I love reading one-shots and overlook stories that have a word count similar to mine most of the time. I understand if people drop off reading mine just because of the length. For those of you who stuck with me. Thank you so much. It means so much, beyond what I can put in words. To those of you on Archive of Our Own who constantly leave messages, you guys are the reason this story is still being written. I love you guys.

Anywho, Time and how it passes. After this blip of just me, it will finally be the second day of the story. That's right, in most areas, only a day has past. Undertale, UnderFell, UnderLust, Dancetale, Echotale, Swaptale, Creationtale; these have only gone through the progression of one day. Dreamtale on the other hand has had centuries pass. I may include maybe one or two more chapters of Dreamtale and its characters down the road, but not anytime soon. Alchemytale has gone through about two weeks, maybe a month. I skipped a lot of time there so that I didn't overload the story with just them. I skipped over their building of a solid portal and going through the ins and outs of building the portal and overcoming their various problems. I went into Blaster's a bit more just because he is an interesting character.

Most of these have pictures associated with them and I don't know how to post them to AO3 or , so they are all featured on quotev. I didn't create the pics, just nabbed them off Bing and they gave me inspiration so I used them.

Now for where everyone is, that is the doozy. I think almost everyone is back home. The Alchemytale group just fell into another verse. Big oopsy. I'm debating on bringing in a whole new ship with that, but don't know yet. I've put allusions in to this new au they found and well, yeah, I'll let the cat out of the bag. They found Horrortale, and Axe/Horror found them. Let me know in the comments which name you prefer for the maniac Sans from that world. Ink and Error will be a set, I'm not messing with that ship. They went back to Ink's universe, if it can be called that. Paperjam and Gradient will not be in this fic, but I may eventually make another "T" rated fic with the family. Not sure yet. There will be NO pregnancies in this fic. I don't do that. Just no. In Swaptale we have some very confused skeletons and Berry, the Sans of that verse is in Classic. Ya know what, heck with writing it out. I'll just make a list for ya. Easier to see that way. Take notes if you want. I do all the time! Sorry the writing is such a mess!

Undertale – **Sans** (he is drunk), **Frisk** (also drunk), **Gaster** (acting as caretaker but not related to the other skeles), and **Berry** (who passed out just inside the door when he found himself not at home.) (If I were Berry I woulda turned around and tried the portal again, but I'm not Berry and he ain't me.

UnderLust – **Hip** (Who stayed the night with Amethyst), **Amethyst** (about to be ripped a new one by Hip because he roasted his phone), **Teal** (at the brothel making breakfast for his new mates), **Razzy** and **Plum** (just waking up to Teal's amazing smelling food)

UnderFell – **Fell** (sulking in his closet after missing supper due to lying to Boss), **Boss** (probably laying the next work week's schedule), **Spikes** (likely working on some new torture device and thinking about how much Frysk had seemed to enjoy what he did to her)

Echotale – **Echo** and **Frysk** (both passed out from long days but still on alert should anyone come too close to their hidden hole)

Dancetale – The characters that are supportive to the story and belong here are here. There are currently no main characters in this universe.

Alchemytale – There are currently no main characters in this universe.

Horrortale – **Axe/Horror** (looks like he is a bit manic. Depending how your responses may make him a more main character), **Daederath** (confused and laying in the snow with Blaster beneath her and Nightmare draped over her back where he fell after her), **Blaster** (trying to figure out why the snow is gray and praying they hadn't ended up in one of those bad places Nightmare talked about. Also inwardly cursing Daederath's excitably nature that got them in this mess), **Nightmare** (Frozen in disbelief that a) the portal worked, b) they just happened to port to the first alternate universe he had come across besides his own in the blank space between them and c) the EXP and LOVE on this guy were way up there)

Creationtale – **Ink** (miffed that he had to leave so suddenly but understanding that Error had to leave. Considering letting Error out more), **Error** (crying to himself as his illusion of a happy life in another verse seems to be destroyed)

Swaptale – **Stretch** (depressed but high as all hell due to hitting the weed extra hard after seeing strange look-a-likes of his brother. The disbelief he got from his family was bringing him down even more), **Segoe** (caught up in his own self-deprecation on not being a good enough father.)

Dreamtale - There are currently no main characters in this universe.

Suit it to say that we are on Day 2 of the main story. Everyone is on the same time now, if not the same timeline/universe. There are still a few more universes I want to bring in that I have had planned from the very beginning, but recreating the lore for them to fit my purpose means that it may take a bit more time before the join in the story.

Now, on another subject, I have had a lot of people it seems saying that they would prefer that Blaster and Nightmare be the cannon in this story. I can likely make that happen instead and pretty easily at this point. That just means (SPOILER) Daederath gets hitched with Segoe. I didn't want to spoil it, but it was already spoiled for some. This fic is written because I have ideas and I want to create semi original ships as well as sail a few of the well-known ones. It is also written for the enjoyment of the readers. If you are not enjoying the fic due to a pair not getting together that you want, then I will alter it, even if I have to go back and modify certain wording in past use. Looking at it, the alteration would still work relatively well, perhaps better that way. If you, the readers, would prefer this going ahead, please let me know in a response to this particular chapter/note. I'm giving you a choice, don't blow it and complain later please. The vote will be open for a few chapters as I try to alternate between characters and the second to last one was Alchemy, so you have a minimum of three chapters to make up your minds.

Everyone seems to be keeping ships connect at this point so I am not going to go over those. If somebody wants me to go over the ships again, let me know and I'll edit this and update the ship list for everyone.

As for "Chapter 17/15 – How Amethyst Met Hip" that was a flashback. I will have one or two more of the flashbacks with those two as I like the story that was concocted for them. They will be noted in their summary or in the beginning somehow that they are in fact flashbacks or memories or from the past.

I would also like to bring up the fact that a few have mentioned that characters are portrayed differently than they have seen them elsewhere. That is likely due to the fact that I don't do tradition research. I look through pics on the image search and watch a ton of videos on youtube. Very rarely I will drop in on the wiki for something when I can't figure out a name or meaning behind something. Usually though, I just look to the video comments and make my own assumptions. That is why Nightmare seems strange and much different than he may appear elsewhere.

The same is very true for Swaptale. In a world where everyone is always cheery, I can't see how there could be such a thing where everyone can be that positive. We all know that Stretch…er Honey-kun. I may change that yet. Honey-kun doesn't flow all that well. Well anyway, Swap Pap loves to smoke, we all know that. Some say it is tobacco, others say it's weed. I say weed. In my experience, weed is used to treat anxiety and severe pain, whether it is prescribed or taken recreationally, those are the normal reasons, along with the euphoria it provides some. The same thought applies to the rest of the family. Weed is known to contain hallucinogens, this affects the smoker's judgement. Due to that, their family may come to resent or distrust them as is shown in Berry and Segoe's attitudes. Segoe is going through something that I figure many parents of drug abusive children may go through. He doesn't know where he went wrong as he had tried to provide a happy childhood for his eldest son. Their whole world I guess could be sort of summed up and described using the song "Dollhouse" by Melanie Martinez. Essentially, for those who won't look it up (I never do) it is a cute and pretty exterior they show to the world where everything is all happiness, but underneath, they are rotting and falling apart, having a hard time making it and struggling like everyone else with their secrets from each other. It is a very dark twist on the normally cheerful swaptale that I didn't plan on bringing in, but the story writes itself usually, and it did here. I explained that in the first note I believe.

Finally, I want to again thank all those who continue to offer their support to my story and continue to read even though my updates are sporadic and not reliable or often in coming. I check AO3 and almost every day for new stuff in my inbox or reviews respectively and I get excited every time I see a post. I usually reply. If I didn't, I apologize, I likely checked it on one of my really bad days where my personal depression just said check and see if this wakes you up and I went through the motions. For that I greatly apologize. You are all very important individuals. It has gotten to the point where I go on and I recognize repeat names and when I have a new person commenting. I do take into account what you all say. If not for the readers, what point would there be in writing. I write so that others can enjoy. I get enjoyment from seeing others enjoy what I produce. I make nothing off this monetarily, but emotionally, this helps support me more than any social media.

So here is your job with this chapter.

Let me know what you want Horrortale's Sans to be called: Axe or Horror

Choose who Blaster should hook up with: Nightmare or Segoe

Remember, Daederath gets whoever Blaster doesn't.

Finally, if you want a list of Ships, let me know and I'll edit into this.

Leave a comment and this story will continue! 3 ya all!


	21. Opposites

Chapter 18 – Opposites

Undertale – Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Gaster, Frisk

Underswap – Berry (Sans), Segoe (Gaster), Stretch (Papyrus)

Gaster had fallen asleep in the recliner as he tried to keep watch over Frisk in case she would need anything through the night. Sans was passed out on another chair sleeping off his hangover from the night before and upstairs the sound of snoring could be heard from Papyrus and Undyne, along with the background sound of the Mario Kart start screen. Berry was laying in the open doorway in a dead feint and snow was slowly accumulating in the entryway. A particularly cold gust of wind curled through the house and shocked Gaster awake as he got a chill down his side.

Blearily he looked up and around as he tried to compute what was going on around him and tried to remember the previous night. A strange skeleton with yellow magic had helped him when Frisk had gotten drunk. He remembered that another strange and dangerous looking skeleton had accompanied that one into this universe. The dangerous one was one of Spikes brothers if he remembered correctly and had delivered their Sans back to the house since he was way too drunk to make it himself.

Another cold burst of air made Gaster turn toward the door where he saw the building pile of snow as a small snow storm picked up outside. With a groan he pushed himself up and hurried over, waking up quickly as the cold hit his face and he started moving. He grabbed a broom from beside the door and started pushing the drift back out the door, starting at the top so it wouldn't pack and would move easier. He would just use his magic, but snow had a bad habit of melting when it came in contact with magic and he couldn't manipulate water so it would just make an even bigger mess.

A few more swipes and a groan alerted him that things were not as they seemed. Under the snow, Berry gave an involuntary shiver and tried to curl into himself, still unconscious and bordering on becoming severely hypothermic. The movement caused Gaster's eyelights to expand before almost disappearing in shock and he picked up the pace on clearing the snow. It didn't take long for him to find the small skeleton buried under the drift and pull him clear. Not bothering to finish getting the snow all out, he forced the door closed so no more would come in and carrying the near frozen skeleton upstairs he rushed to the bathroom where he set him down.

Sticking his head into Papyrus's room he whisper-called, "Papyrus. I hate to bother you, but I really need your help!"

Groggily Papyrus sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "What Is Up Gaster?" thankfully he wasn't fully awake so he wasn't up to full volume yet.

"I found a frozen skeleton in the entryway this morning. You have the best healing magic of us all." Gaster explained as he grabbed a few of the extra blankets that had been used in the fort that had been built the night before in the room.

Papyrus quickly woke up upon hearing that news. "WHERE IS THIS OTHER? I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS SHALL HEAL THEM!"

Next to him Undyne sat straight up in surprise and not awake in the least from Papyrus's loud declaration.

"Not so loud Pap, please. Others are still sleeping." Gaster tried to hush him. "They're in the bathroom." He then led the way back to the bathroom, Papyrus close behind him. Berry had not moved at all, minus a small occasional shiver.

"Get Some Lukewarm Water Started Gaster." Papyrus made an effort to keep his voice down as he saw the severity of the situation and took the blankets and started trying to chafe some warmth into the frozen stranger. He also started taking off the battle body that they had strapped on. He had to admit it was just as good as his.

By the time the bath was almost full, Berry had started to shiver properly and regained a small amount of consciousness. He was shivering too much to be able to help or talk though.

"We Are Going To Put You In A Warm Bath Little One. You Are Very Cold So It May Seem Very Hot. Trust Us. We Are Not Going To Hurt You." He tried to keep his voice low so as to not scare this very small version of his brother. Gaster had explained a while ago that there would be look-a-likes and they were all pretty much the same person, but would have different personalities, so he understood that this was indeed another Sans, just not his Sans.

Berry gave a very jerky nod, though he seemed a bit wary of them both.

Papyrus removed the blankets and carefully picked up Berry and slowly started to ease him into the bath. Berry couldn't help struggling. He knew the water wasn't that hot, but it felt like fire. The tears that formed in his sockets and rolled down his face also burned. Between Gaster and Papyrus they finally got Berry into the tub and carefully rubbed his bones to help his magic start circulating properly.

At some point Undyne poked her head in and asked if she could help in anyway when she saw how rough Berry looked.

"Could you check on Frisk and Sans?" Gaster asked, looking away from his work for a moment. "They both ended up drunk last night. Sans is used to it, but Frisk has never dealt with it and she had a bit of a rough night."

Undyne nodded and went downstairs. Sure enough, Sans was awake, but groggy and laying claim to a severe headache. When Undyne told him that Frisk had gotten drunk though, he seemed to try to put his problems to the side. Together they made a light breakfast, Sans helping direct Undyne on the best way to help her get around the hangover, while following his own instructions. Small amounts of food, sips of water, and after some food, some pain killers. For the most part it seemed to work and she slowly came around. Undyne and Sans agreed to watch some TV with her as both her and Sans recovered.

Upstairs, Berry's temperature was finally starting to rise. He started to be able to function more and although he still shuddered quite often, his shivering was dying off.

"I'll get him dried off, Papyrus, why don't you go grab some of your brother's softer pajamas and run them through the dryer quickly." Gaster suggested as he grabbed one of the thicker towels and started draining the tub as the water was now rapidly cooling.

Papyrus stood, gave a smart salute and dashed out in an almost comical manner while shouting, "THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL FIND THE FLUFFIEST CLOTHES AND MAKE SURE THEY ARE PLENTY WARM!"

Berry stared at the door, flabbergasted. That guy was almost like his brother used to be!

Gaster noticed him staring and chuckled. "He can be a bit excitable. Please excuse him."

Berry looked back at Gaster with his eyelights resembling star shapes. "He Is Just Like My Brother Used To Be." He shuddered halfway though and nearly bit his tongue, but managed to finish his statement.

It was Gaster's turn to be surprised as he realized that this smaller version of his Sans spoke just like Papyrus. "Is that so? He is always very driven and hyper. I know that Sans, his brother is his complete opposite. That has seemed to be a trend in most worlds. Perhaps yours ran on a different algorithm and that is why we haven't come across you yet. I wonder what changed." Gaster started talking to himself even as he mechanically help Berry dry off and wrapped him in the heavy plush of the towel.

Having heard similar, if better explained, rambling from Ink, Berry had a bit of a clue as to what Gaster was talking about.

Papyrus came in shortly after. "I HAVE FOUND THE FLUFFIEST OF THE FLUFFIES THAT MY BROTHER OWNS." He looked between it and Berry. "IT SEEMS IT MAY BE A BIT TOO BIG." In his hands he held a very plush onesie that Sans hadn't even realized he had. It had been buried deep in his closet.

"It will work just fine Papyrus. Did you remember to warm it up?" asked Gaster.

"IT WAS NEXT TO THE HEATER IN HIS CLOSET SO IT WAS ALREADY WARM. I NEARLY DID NOT SEE IT THOUGH SINCE HIS ROOM IS SO MESSY!" Papyrus declared with a bit of a huff.

Gaster hid a grin and accepted the garment from him. "Why don't you go get some hot cocoa set up for our guest? I don't think he will be going anywhere for a bit. I can feel the storm picking up outside." And indeed the storm was getting worse.

Berry looked at Gaster surprised as Papyrus left once more to do as he was asked. "You can predict the weather?"

"Oh no, nothing like that. These old bones are just a bit sensitive to changes in the atmosphere is all." Gaster chuckled. "Come, why don't we go downstairs and you can tell us how you came to be frozen in our entryway?" he asked as he stood.

Berry measured up Gaster as he stood and was surprised. He thought that that he would have been taller, all the black he wore certainly made him look taller, but he could tell that he was shorter than Segoe by at least half a foot.

"You okay?" Gaster's brow furrowed when he realized the snow victim was just staring at him.

"Mhmm. I Just Noticed You Are Not As Tall As I Thought. Segoe Is Taller." Berry told him.

"I assume that Segoe is your universe's version of myself?" Gaster asked with a smile. The stranger was taking the news of other universes pretty well it seemed.

"Yeah. I Am Berry And My Brother Is Stretch. What Are You Guys Called?" he asked. He remembered how although Ink had looked like him and so did Error to a point, they hadn't had the same names, which he guessed made sense.

"Well, I'm Gaster, the other one who was helping here is called Papyrus. I'm not sure if you noticed the woman who stepped in?" he paused and Berry shook his head. "Well, she will be downstairs. Her name is Undyne. She is one of the fish people from Waterfall. We also have Papyrus's older brother, Sans and a human who lives here called Frisk." Gaster explained as they made their way down the wall and stairs.

"That Is Different From My World. I Am The Older Brother And Segoe Is My Father. The Way you Talk, It Does Not Sound Like They Are Your Sons." Berry looked up at Gaster curiously.

"Goodness no. I'm just a friend that they put up. I help them afford the bills and such." Gaster explained. He had seen in Underfell that other versions of himself could be related to the brothers, but he hadn't expected to be labeled as the father of them. That was just too much to fathom.

"Huh, Guess The Universes Really Are Different. Ink Was Not Kidding." Berry mused to himself.

"Who is Ink?" asked Gaster, interested. If someone else had explained the universal differences, then Gaster was interested in meeting them. Maybe they could answer some of his questions and complete some of his theories.

"Oh, HE SAYS HE CREATED THE UNIVERSES! HE IS REALLY FUNNY AND HE LOOKS SORT OF LIKE ME BUT MUCH TALLER!" Berry suddenly got excited and the fuzzy star shape of his eyelights solidified into bright blue stars. "HE VISITED ME AND MY FAMILY YESTERDAY AND EXPLAINED IT All…" his voice died off as he remembered once more his own family and how he had completely believed Ink, but discounted his brother. It was because of his brother that he was here making more friends and meeting new people.

Gaster was silent in disbelief. A Sans had created the universes? How, what did their universe look like? He completely missed how Berry went from his sudden joyful self to being downtrodden once more.

Sans on the other hand had heard Berry's outburst and looked over the back of the couch and watched as the light in Berry's eyes went from bright to dim and the stars in his eyes became fuzzy once more. He could tell his alternate hadn't seen any kind of battle, he wasn't a judge that was for sure, so what had broken him?

At that moment Papyrus came out of the kitchen with a tray bearing several steaming mugs and the smell of hot cocoa quickly permeated the room. "A GOOD PICK-ME-UP, CURTESSY OF MY GREAT SELF!" he exclaimed, momentarily forgetting that he had been trying to keep his voice down for their guest.

Berry jumped, startled, and stared at Papyrus. He could see a semblance of his brother there, but he seemed more like himself than his brother he realized. If anything, the one who looked like himself on the couch acted more like his brother used to. Chill but happy in a sense.

Beside him Gaster chuckled. "No need to be so jumpy, Pap is just a bit excitable and tends to be a bit loud." He rubbed between his shoulders to try and calm him down. It worked when Sans had his rare panic attacks and seemed to be working now.

Gaster's actions were not missed by Sans and he flashed a smile at the scientist. "Why don't you come over and join us buddy. My bro's cocoa is the best in the underground." He invited and patted the arm of the couch next to him since the couch was a bit full at the moment with him and a sick Frisk.

"Sure." Berry moved over to the couch and boosted himself up onto the arm. From there he could clearly see Frisk. "Hi, You Must Be The Human Here?" he asked of her.

Giving a weak smile, she nodded.

"I Am Called Berry. It Is So Nice To Meet You!" he told her sincerely.

Sans subtly continued to watch his double, still trying to figure him out.

Berry ended up with one of the largest mugs of cocoa and carefully took a sip after seeing the copious amounts of steam that rose from the top. "WOWIE. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!" the stars in his eyes returned and this time everyone noticed the glaring difference in his personality and his eyes.

"YOU CERTAINLY SEEM TO BE DOING BETTER NOW. IT MUST BE MY SUPERB COCOA AND HEALING SKILLS AT WORK!" Papyrus puffed up in pride.

"Of course bro. What else could it possibly have been?" huffed Sans in a laugh.

Sitting this close, Berry couldn't miss the heavy smell of alcohol coming off of Sans and he could see the very prominent signs of consistent drinking in his counterpart. The longer he stayed, the more he saw similarities between himself to Papyrus and Stretch to Sans. It did not seem like Papyrus was bothered by his brother's state though. Berry thought on it as he nursed his cocoa and watched how everyone here got along and seemed happy. Unlike back at home, he could tell this was not an act. It was all genuine. On TV was the MTT show and strangely is was hosting Mettaton. It seemed like he was a popular pop star here though.

Around noon it was deemed that the storm would likely continue through the night and into the next day, to which Berry began to really get nervous. Segoe had to be getting worried about him. He wasn't the one who wandered off without a word, that was his brother. He couldn't help but look at the door wistfully, but he knew he would likely not make it back to the portal. If he had his brother teleportation magic he probably could, but he didn't. Maybe he could ask Papyrus to take him to the portal!

Undyne was helping Frisk with grammar homework that apparently Alphys had assigned to the both of them, another oddity that Berry had noticed, and Sans had decided to take a nap on the couch. He hadn't seen where Gaster had gone, but Papyrus had mentioned something about going up to his room to game.

Figuring it would be alright to go up, since he had been upstairs once already, Berry made his way up and followed the faint sounds of the video game until he came to Papyrus's door and peeked in. He seemed really focused on the screen of his TV. "Uh, Papyrus, May I Ask A Favor Of You?" he asked a bit unsure. He found it a bit hard to talk to Papyrus due to how similar he looked to his brother. If it weren't for the battle body, which he had secretly been admiring, they could have been twins.

"OH, BERRY, COME ON IN! I CAN PAUSE THIS." Papyrus waved him into the room.

It was very clean and organized. Even the bed was fixed perfectly with the sheets pulled tight to the bed. It practically matched Berry's own room. Berry added this to the tally of similarities between himself and his brother's look-a-like.

"WHAT CAN THE GREAT PAPYRUS DO FOR YOU?" Papyrus turned his full attention to Berry. The small skeleton looked so shy. He kind of reminded Pap of the pictures of his brother when he had been a teenager.

"I Wanted To Ask If You Would Be Able To Take Me To The Portal? My Dad Must Be Very Worried About Me By Now." He looked up hopefully.

Papyrus look turned sympathetic. "WELL, I WOULD LOVE TO TAKE YOU TO THE PORTAL, BUT EVEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS DARE NOT WALK OUTSIDE IN A STORM SUCH AS THIS. IT WILL PASS SOON."

Berry was confused. "Then Why Not Just Teleport Us? Would Not That Be Easier?" he asked.

"THAT IS A GRAND IDEA. WE CAN ASK MY BROTHER AND HE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET YOU TO THE PORTAL!" Papyrus was up in an instant and marching out of his room to rouse Sans.

Berry could only blink. Papyrus couldn't teleport? Was everything here backwards? He followed after Papyrus and watched as Pap roused his brother and asked. Sans turned to look blearily at Berry, who looked doubtfully back. A drunk look-a-like was supposed to teleport him. He wasn't so sure he trusted that.

"You really gonna make me go out in that mess?" grumped Sans.

"No, I Can Wait." Berry said, hugging himself. He missed his father and brother, but not enough to put himself in jeopardy. He could wait until morning. It surprised him a little that he actually did miss his brother.

Papyrus piped up, "YOU LAZYBONES. IT IS NOT LIKE IT IS THAT BIG A DEAL FOR YOU!"

"No, It Is Fine. I Can Just Go Tomorrow Morning." Berry insisted.

Berry's insistence won over Papyrus and he made his way back to his room grumbling about lazy brothers, but it also caught Sans attention. Since he was awake, he might as well get some answers from their visitor. Something just didn't sit right with him about how Berry talked and acted.

Berry was about to go work with Frisk and Undyne when Sans called his name.

"Hey buddy, commere, wanna talk to ya."

Unsure, Berry looked toward the kitchen, but then went to sit on the couch beside Sans. He hadn't done anything to make Berry warry, so why not talk to him a little. "What Do You Want To Talk About?"

"How about you? Somethin's wrong. I can tell you ain't no judge, so why you so down?"

At first, Berry was surprised at Sans's directness, but then something caught his curiosity. "What Do You Mean I Am Not A Judge?"

Sans was surprised. He told his brother about his job so that he would know to be careful. Did Berry's brother not? "Well, in all the universes we have found so far, it is typically one of my look-a-likes that is a judge. We recognize each other through our souls, which is how I knew it wasn't you. I've only come across one other world where it wasn't one of my look-a-likes, it was my brother's equivalent in that world. I assume it would be the same in your world." He shrugged.

Berry was still confused. "What Is A Judge Though?"

"Heh, well, um." Sans scratches his skull as he tries to think how to explain the break in timelines to someone who would never remember them. He looks around, as if something around him might have the answer and then hears Frisk say something in the kitchen from where she sits at the table. "Hold that thought pal, let me get someone who is a bit more knowledgeable about that than me." He teleports to the kitchen leaving Berry looking at his empty spot.

Frisk looks up from the page she is on. They have found six errors, but Alphys said there were seven, so her and Undyne are scanning it for the tenth time hoping to find the error. A pop next to her signals Sans appearing, as well as the yelp from Undyne, who even after all this time, still isn't used to his antics. "Hello Sans. What's up?"

"Ah, kiddo, hate to bring it up, but I think you might be able to explain about the whole judge thing to Berry better than me." Sans doesn't meet her eyes. She had gone through two neutral runs and one genocide run, so she knew how the timelines differed and what being a judge really meant for Sans. He had killed her so many times because she had been stubborn.

With a sigh she slid off her chair. "Guessing he isn't a judge then?"

Undyne looked up interested in the whole conversation. "Mind if I join? I'd like to hear about this judging stuff, being my competitive self, I should qualify for judging." She boasted, flexing a little.

Frisk and Sans shrugged at the same time and made their way back into the living room where Berry was still sitting on the couch. He looked behind him as they all came in, but his eyes stayed on Sans, only occasionally flicking to Frisk. She still interested him. He couldn't remember finding a human yet.

Sans took his spot back on the couch while Frisk and Undyne took either of the chairs. There was a moment of silence as everyone waited for someone to start.

"Soooo?" Berry prodded.

Sans looked at Frisk, who took a deep breath and nodded. "Berry, humans who come down into the Underground have an ability. We are able to go back in time to the point of when we entered the underground the first time. When we do, everyone forgets what we put them through. Judges are the only ones that remember. The judges are the ones that make sure that we humans don't go overboard and wipe out the monster population."

"But Why Would A Human Try To Wipe Us Out? It Is Not Like We Try To Hurt Them." Berry interjected.

Frisk looked down in shame. "Humans tend to destroy that which we fear and don't understand. I killed everyone once and nearly killed Sans here too." She had tears in her eyes as she remembered, but pushed on.

Berry looked horrified.

"We also have the ability to leave the Underground without breaking the barrier if we choose, but then we can't return unless we reset. In my case, I've reset several times, but finally decided and spoken with the King and Queen about my decision. I won't reset again, but I'm not going to leave or break the barrier. The human population has proven time and again that they won't accept the monsters to come out to the Surface."

Berry was speechless, as was Undyne.

"Well, that about sums it up. For us judges, we have to handle all the humans who come through. It is up to us ultimately to keep our universes safe. Most of us it seems wait until it is too late to react though. Some do act early and if the human kills they will destroy them before they can progress any further or do further damage, but not most. We remember every death, every reset, and every pass." Sans, sitting cross-legged had been very focused on his feet. Now he looked up. "If your brother is the judge of your world, and he likely is if he can teleport, and he didn't tell you this, he probably want to protect you from what is out there. He has likely seen you die more times that he can count, and he remembers every time." Sans's eyelights had gone out, making him look much more sinister and dangerous, but his voice spoke of immense pain.

"Is That Why You Drink?" Berry barely manages to ask. It seemed a good enough reason to turn to drinking or hallucinogenic drugs. Maybe they made his life seem better.

"Yeah, but I also like what the bartender serves and he'll listen to me rant for hours, no matter how drunk I am. It's a good way to loosen up and vent." Sans admitted.

Frisk got up, patted his shoulder as she passed, and went back to her work in the kitchen. Undyne woodenly followed.

Berry didn't move, he couldn't as his mind was still trying to wrap around the fact that his brother had seen him die, was actually hurting, was trying to protect him and his father, was strong enough to take on a human. His brother, who he didn't give the time of day and constantly made degrading remarks about when he was in hearing range. Berry's mind finally broke and he started bawling, collapsing into himself.

Sans didn't know what to expect, but a full breakdown was par for the course. He thankfully only had to explain it once to his brother. He explained it to him between humans, so a reset hadn't been able to be wiped of that memory. If the universe this alternate was from had a human in its Underground right now, then there was a big chance that he would forget all this on their next reset. For now though, he rubbed Berry's back and comforted him.

Berry stayed the rest of the day without any further complaint and the next morning Papyrus helped him get to the portal, carrying him piggyback so he wouldn't get lost under all the snow. It was deeper than he was tall. Sans had offered to come with him, but Berry insisted he wanted to go home alone, but he would come back to visit, he promised. Once they made it to the portal, Berry's only thought was of Stretch, he went through the portal confidently and released a sigh as the faint smell of his brother's weed hit his nasal cavity. He was home. He walked back around the house and pushed open the door, only to walk face first into Greater Dog, a tracking member of the Royal Guard.

"Berry?" he wuffed, surprised.

"GD? WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT MY HOME?" Berry asked, surprised. His day and a half in the other verse had greatly changed his outlook and he had decided he wanted to return to how he used to be. A bit of training in a secret room under the house with Papyrus and Undyne had helped him get his spark back.

Greater Dog flinched back from the volume, then answered. "Your father has been worried about you. He insisted that the royal guard look for you. Your brother also asked for our help."

"OH, WELL NOT TO FEAR, THE BRILLIANT BERRY HAS RETURNED!"

Alphys, who was standing in the center of the room still trying to calm a distraught Segoe heard Berry and couldn't believe her ears. Berry hadn't spoken like that in ages. But better than that, Berry was home! "Segoe, listen, it sounds like your son is at the door!"

"Wha-what!" He turned around and dogs had to duck out of his way fast as they could as he ran in a frantic flailing and ungainly way toward the door. A few huffed in amusement or distaste as his lack of restraint. He paid them no mind. When he caught sight of his youngest son, he threw himself at him.

Berry saw his dad a second before he collided with him and just barely managed to catch him. "DAD, I MISSED YOU SO MUCH! I HAVE SO MUCH TO TELL YOU! WHERE IS STRETCH? I MUST TALK TO HIM IMMEDIATELY." Berry's eyelights were bright, the star shapes clearly defined and Segoe noticed immediately the change in his son.

"Your brother? I believe he is in his room. I haven't seen much of him since you disappeared. He blames himself for your disappearance." Segoe was very solemn, a rarity for him, as he explained.

"Berry, report!" Demanded Alphys as she pushed her way to stand beside Segoe and drew herself up as much as she could. She was short in stature, but she more than made that up in mere presence.

"COMMANDER ALPHYS! I HAVE BEEN TO ANOTHER UNIVERSE! THEY ARE COMPLETELY OPPOSITE OF US. NOW PLEASE EXCUSE ME, I MUST TAKE CARE OF FAMILY MATTERS AND WHILE I THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONCERN, I MUST ASK FOR A LEAVE OF ABSENSE UNTIL I FINISH!" Berry rattled it all off easily and calmly and held the door open in a clear invitation for all to leave.

"Leave approved. I expect a written report in a week though." Alphys didn't know what the talk of another universe was about, but seeing him have his spark back was more than enough reason for her to give him time. If he had found a way to rejuvenate his happiness, then there truly was hope for the underground.

"UNDERSTOOD." He replied. Once everyone had left, he closed the door, gave his dad another hug and bolted up the stairs.

Stretch, who had heard the door open and close downstairs and the sounds of yelling and commotion quiet down decided to come out and look for something to snack on. He figured all the yelling had been Alphys using her authority to get the dogs out to look for his brother. He didn't think they would find him though. Opening his door, he was hit with a compact rushing small body that knocked him onto his back. "Wha-!"

"STRETCH! I AM SO SO SORRY. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU AND I MISSED YOU AND I AM SO SORRY. PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE ME. I LOVE YOU!" Berry was sobbing uncontrollably the second he made contact with his brother. The smell of the pot on him was overwhelming, but Berry didn't care anymore. He was here because he had the best big brother.

Stretch didn't know what to think. This was too real to be a hallucination, but also too impossible. What was going on?

Segoe, who followed Berry up the steps was just as confounded.

Finally, Stretch pushed himself into a sitting position and wrapped Berry in a hug, something he had not gotten the chance to do in years. "I'm not going anywhere. I will always be here." He started to cry a bit as well, overcome by the pure resonance of joy he was feeling that had nothing to do with his drugs and hugged Berry to him even more.

"Can- Can I get in on the hugs?" Segoe asked. He didn't want to end whatever was going on, but he wanted to be included with his sons.

In unison, they both said "Please" "PLEASE"

He rushed to embrace them, and joined in the crying. It took another half an hour before they all calmed down enough to even think of talking. They all just sat in the hallway in front of Stretch's doorway as Berry related what had happened to him and all he had learned about judges. Stretch confirmed that he was indeed the judge of their universe, which led to another round of crying.

When they all managed to calm down a bit Berry pushed himself unsteadily to his feet. "I AM GOING TO MAKE SOME OF MY SIGNATURE TACOS. WE NEED GOOD FOOD."

Smiling, Segoe nodded, not trusting himself to speak just yet.

"I would love that brother. I would love that very much. Hey dad, would you like to watch some Nabstablook with me while we wait?" Stretch asked his father.

Segoe promptly burst into a fresh wave of tears but agreed and they went down to watch the Blooky show while Berry prepared extra special tacos for his family.

Things were going to be alright. They would not hide anything anymore and lean on each other. He knew why his brother drank and took the drugs now. If he forgot, Stretch had agreed to remind him every time. They agreed that it was better to know and be together than not know and be apart.

Segoe still didn't like the drinking or the drugs, but if his son really was fighting off the forces of evil on his own, and had to watch his father and brother murdered multiple times, he supposed he couldn't object too much. He just asked that Stretch not get himself so wasted that he dusted himself or couldn't get home, to which Stretch willing agreed.

Berry also made him agree to not put his drugs in the brownies anymore. That took a bit more convincing and quite a bit of laughing from all sides when they found out that Segoe had actually been the one for finish off the last batch without even realizing they had been spiked. He claimed that they had made him really sleepy but he hadn't understood why. Stretch then had to explain the exact effects of his marijuana and the various strains.

Overall, the day was very taxing, educational, and powerful for all included. They ended up making a pillow fort around the TV and squished together on the fold out couch watching Nabstablook and just enjoying each other's company as they passed out.

Author's Note: Oops, This ended up being a much larger chapter than expected. Sorry. Also, this ended up being two days…guess these guys and Undertale are out of the running until the others catch up. May have to make time pass a bit faster everywhere else. Oops.

P.S. Thanks for still reading this far in and don't forget to add your answers in the replies to the author's note last chapter please!


	22. Death and Starvation

Chapter 19 – Death and Starvation

Dusttale: Dusty (Sans), Spectre (Dead Papyrus)

Horrortale: Axe (Sans), Crooks (Papyrus)

Dreamtale: Nightmare (Sans)

Alchemytale: Blaster (Sans), Daedarath (Undyne)

They were finally dead. The human had finally fallen for the last time. He was positive he had found all of their save stars and destroyed every last chance of them returning. He had finally won.

A specter that only he could see began to materialize behind him. "What shall you do now brother?" it wheezed.

"I'm not too sure. Can't exactly go to Grillby's anymore, now can I?" he laughed.

"Why don't we go home? Maybe you can finally get some sleep?" Spectre suggested.

"Guess I should. You have already shown me that I won't get rest when I'm dead. Heh." He huffed a few choked laughs, which dislodged a bit of Dust in his jacket, causing it to lightly powder the bloody floor under his feet.

A little ways away lay the slain child, their blood quickly being soaked up and staining the piles of Dust that covered the floor of the room. He could name every pile if he chose to. He didn't, it would only further his madness. This madness that made his success possible. Made the survival of his brother's specter possible. Made it all possible.

He stood there just watching the blood slowly stop draining from the human and then watched as it all dried on the floor. It was done, finally done. He took a step, then another. His next step placed him on a Dust laden snowscape. The scent of smoke hung in the air, still remaining from the great fire cause by his battle with the bartender. In front of him stood his house, a shell of the once happy place.

Spectre floated past him and waited on the porch. "Come on brother. You must get inside before you get sick. It is cold out here!"

"Sure thing bro." his deep voice was the only sound that broke the still silence. After a few moments, he started moving, his light weight cracking and breaking the thin crisp layer of ice that topped the snow.

It crunched, much like the flesh of Undyne or Alphys had when his bones had pierced them. With each step, he saw again the look of astonishment, the pain, the fear that he had generated as he had taken down every single monster. The breaking of the ice under his feet mimicked the sound of his bones breaking theirs. As his feet put pressure down on the wooden steps leading up to his porch, the creak of the wood reminded him of their whimpers and screams. Every. Last. One. He remembered them all. Their screams, their whimpers, their begging faces pleading for mercy, they all spun viciously, deliciously around inside his skull.

Once inside, he looked around the house. Once upon a time, it had been bright, cheery, even welcoming. Now though, it was empty and seemed drained of color. He moved to the kitchen and found a pack on instant noodles left on the counter where he had left them. Going through motions that had become second nature and required little to no thought, he made himself a sparse supper.

"WHAT WILL WE DO NOW THAT EVERYONE IS GONE?" Spectre asked as he floated above the fridge.

Dusty shrugged. "Don't know. Nobody will hurt you now though and that is what matters."

"NOBODY COULD HURT ME ONCE YOU KNOCKED ME BROTHER." Spectre pointed out.

"It had to be done. It was the only way." Dusty shook his head.

"OF COURSE. I SUPPORT YOU EITHER WAY." Spectre put a comforting hand on his sibling's shoulder.

"I'm gonna take a nap. Stay near the house, okay bud?" Dusty looked to what remained of his brother. He was the only thing really left in the Underground other than himself.

"SURE DUSTY. I'M GOING TO TRY TO MOVE SOME SNOW AROUND OUT BACK." Since being Dusted, Spectre had made it his goal to be able to physically affect anything in the world again. If Blook the ghost and the dummy monsters could do stuff, then he should be able to as well.

"Have fun." Dusty waved him off and flopped over an arm of the couch and inhaled the mildewed scent of the furniture as he fell face first into it.

Phasing through the walls into the backyard, Spectre immediately noticed the strange portal that floated there. Looking over his shoulder at their rundown house, he decided to investigate. Nobody else could see him but his brother anyway, what was the harm? Everything else down here was dead anyway. What could have created it anyway?

Drifting through, he immediately noticed so many differences he couldn't keep track. The snow was completely white, unmarred by Dust. The sound of a generator shook the air around him. The chill of death and depression didn't emanate from the woods beyond the yard, which was not fenced in like he knew his to be. Emerging from the tunnel like structure he had come into when passing through the anomaly, he looked toward the house and was blown away by the carnage. Broken stone ruins of what looked to be a rather large addition to the back of a house he sort of remembered as what his used to look like took up a large part of the yard.

Looking around and seeing nobody else, he made his way closer to inspect. It looked like a lot of damage had been cause here by a huge explosion. This wasn't the same as Dummy's rocket explosions or Dusty's blaster abilities, though signs of blasters being used were noticeable in some areas, they were not the cause of the majority of this. After surveying the area for a while and realizing he wasn't going to get any more information from the ruins, he phased into the house.

It was dark, but not in a scary way, more like whoever lived here just wasn't in or didn't care to turn the lights on. The place was clean, little to no dust, rugs covering polished hardwood floors. When he came to the living room and saw the recliner and couch, he was touched with a bit of confusion. He had already realized he wasn't home anymore but had somehow expected there to be some similarities inside as the outside had had some miniscule similarity to how his home had looked at one point. Floating closer to look, he noticed a portion of the couch had been rotted away, but the rest looked in relatively good shape. The recliner was also in great condition. On the table between them were papers scattered about. Looking over the ones on top, he couldn't understand most of it, but some of the diagrams seems to be similar to what he had seen outside when he had first come through. He tried to move some of them to look through more, but his hand just phased through it all. Shaking his head, he explored more of the home, curious.

Hours later, coming to the conclusion that nobody was here and with Dusty likely to wake up from his nap soon, Spectre decided it was time to head home and made his way back outside and to the portal. Now that he was out here, he wasn't quite sure how to get back, but figured he could try going through and see what happened. Not like he could die, right? With thoughts of his brother in his mind, he floated through and once more found himself in his own backyard. The tall wooden fence marking its boundary let him know he really was home, as well as the thick layer of Dust that permeated everything and turned the snow almost black.

Looking back at the portal, he smiled. Maybe he could meet some new people this way, even if they couldn't meet him. He hoped his brother wouldn't want to kill all of them too. He floated into the house and watched as his brother snored and snorted into the rotting couch they had in the center of the living room, exactly as he had left him. As if sensing his presence though, the snores and snorts died off and after a few minutes, Dusty turned over and looked up to Spectre.

"How was training?" He asked, as if Spectre had just gone out to spar with Undyne again like he used to.

"I STILL CAN'T TOUCH ANYTHING, BUT I WILL EVENTUALLY. I JUST HAVE TO KEEP TRYING." Spectre informed him.

"I'm sure you'll get it Spec, you're the best, you always get your stuff done." Dusty assured. "I'm going to check on the ruins. Want to come?"

Spectre shrugged and fell in behind his brother as they headed out for another round of walking the empty underground. There was absolutely nobody here and they both knew it, but it beat sitting around and pretending that his brother wasn't going mad.

After checking the door and in the ruins themselves, they were certain no new human had fallen and started making their way back to the house. On the way back and after some serious thought, Spectre decided to tell Dusty of what he had found.

Dusty wasn't too happy, but he listened. "So you saw nobody there?" He asked once Spectre was done detailing everything he had seen.

"THERE WAS NOBODY, NOBODY AT ALL. I ONLY LOOKED IN THE ONE HOUSE THOUGH." Spectre studied the face Dusty was making, trying to figure out if he had done the right thing by telling him about the portal.

"Well, guess there is nothing for it. Let's go check it out. I don't need you getting in trouble. I'll do anything necessary to keep you safe." his blue and red eyes flared slightly before returning to normal, but he looked more determined than he had since before his fight with the human child.

"DUSTY, PLEASE DON'T KILL ANY MORE. IF WE DO FIND OTHERS, PLEASE DON'T KILL THEM. NOT UNTIL WE KNOW THEY MEAN US HARM ANYWAY." Spectre fell behind slightly. He didn't want to see anymore Dust on his brother's hands and the snow in that other place had been so pristine.

Dusty looked over to his brother, about to tell him off for not understanding when he realized how far he had fallen behind and how sad and lonely he looked. He stopped and thought about what his brother was asking before nodding. "Deal. I won't kill them until they become a threat to us. Okay?"

Spectre looked up surprised. "REALLY? THANK YOU SO MUCH. I CAN'T WAIT TO MEET NEW MONSTERS!" He flew in circles around trees and branches with elation making Dusty laugh for the first time in a long while.

His brother was the only one who could do that anymore. The only one who could make him laugh. Grim thoughts still dominated the back of his mind though. In another place that he didn't know, anything could happen. He would not be separated from his brother again. He absolutely refused.

When they got back to the house, instead of going around to the front, Dusty made his way around back. Now that he and his brother were the only ones in the underground, he walked everywhere he went so that his brother was never alone. He paused when he saw the portal floating there like some kaleidoscopic disk. "That is sick looking." He stated to nobody in particular.

"PERHAPS, BUT WALK THROUGH IT. IT IS SO COOL!" Spectre hovered right behind him, anxiously waiting and knowing he would only annoy his brother if he went first.

Looking up to his brother, Dusty shrugged and began walking toward it. He really didn't know what to expect and so didn't expect much better than what he was looking at now. They crossed through at the same time, so Dusty was completely disoriented to find his brother wasn't with him, but a set of figures were. One of which looked a bit like Undyne did; a guy who had a chunk taken out of his skull with a rusty axe dangling from one hand, looking even more insane than himself. Two smaller skeletons accompanied the one that looked like Undyne. Dusty's first thought was with bewilderment, "Does that one have tentacles?!" He could immediately tell without even checking the one missing a part of his skull was trouble and after a brief check, the black one had some EXP and LOV. He glanced around worriedly, not seeing his brother anywhere.

"Ooh, another playmate for me." The skeleton with the broken skull grinned. Only one of his eyes was visible, his fingers gripped his other socket.

Daedarath looked up over her shoulder and didn't know which way she should run. Both these monsters had a ton of LOV and EXP. She had been uncertain about Nightmare with his small levels, but next to these guys, he was as innocent as she was. Blaster looked to be in the same state, but Nightmare pushed himself up until he was standing with his tentacles curling around him, prepared to attack or defend as necessary.

"Why don't we all calm down and talk this out rationally?" Nightmare offered, trying to break the hostile air generated by the two powerhouses on either side of them.

They both flinched, eyelights shrinking.

Behind Nightmare, Blaster pushed himself carefully to his feet. While he could walk around, after something like that, he was a bit unsteady. Daedarath had already reached her feet and helped steady him. Unwavering focus between the three squaring off forced a stalemate and left each one knowing that they wouldn't be getting out of this without dealing with the other two.

"Where is my brother?" Dusty demanded, anger rising, purple magic starting to streak from his left eye.

The one with the axe pulled his hand away from his socket and properly surveyed the strangers that had appeared in his butchery yard. One who resembled how he looked before food became scarce and one who looked like a much weaker version of the Queen. "Who are all you?" He checked them all and could just make out that Blaster was a judge, and weird as it was, the one with the tentacles seemed to be a half judge. The one that looked like a younger him has also clearly a judge and one who had gone through hell. Why were there so many judges here?

Not sure how to answer the one getting out of hand, Nightmare's eyes flicked between them both. Taking a breath, he attempted to answer the one with the axe. "We are-"

"Where is my brother? I won't ask again." Dusty warned.

The one with the axe started to sweat slightly. He hadn't eaten this week and knew he didn't have the stamina for even a small battle. "Answer him first." He told Nightmare. His eyes couldn't help follow the supple line of Nightmare's tentacles though. They would provide a few meals for him and his brother.

Nightmare nodded, but he didn't like the way he looked at him. Looking to Dusty, he held out his hands in a placating gesture. "I don't know where your brother i- wait a minute. Your the guy who wiped out your underground! You killed your brother, what do you mean where is he?" Nightmare couldn't help taking a step back.

"Night, calm down or you're gonna drive us all mad." Daedarath warned behind him, doing her best to keep her mind under control and consol Blaster who had broken down when Nightmare's miasma had hit him."

Axe had felt his fear increase tenfold seconds before the black skeleton stepped back. When the Queen-looking lady yelled at him and it started to decrease, he reigned in his thoughts of taking a tentacle for lunch. This guy was wack.

"He never died. My brother was always by my side. I only did what I had to so I could protect him." Snarled Dusty, raising a bone attack in preparation.

"Alright, alright! We'll help you find him! We don't want to fight." Nightmare called out, taking another step back, flinching when something snapped under his foot. Glancing down, he felt sick as he saw old bones barely covered in snow. He knew he'd recognized the one with the axe. They were the ones that murdered the human children and ate their carcases with his brother.

Dusty wasn't sure he wanted to believe the black skeleton, but remembered his promise to his brother and he had said he didn't want to fight. "Fine, how are you going to help me find him. Only I can see him."

Nightmare threw a glance at Axe, who just shrugged and held up his hands in a gesture saying he had and wanted no part in this. "No chopping any of us up, okay?"

"Don't ignore me." growled Dusty even as Axe nodded.

"I'm not, but he," Nightmare tilted his head at Axe, "has a habit of chopping up others for lunch, whether they are monster or human and I don't feel like being lunch."

Dusty looked at Axe menacingly.

"I didn't touch your brother!" Axe assured him quickly.

Nightmare broke in before they could start a fight. It wouldn't be pretty. "When did you last see your brother. I told you we would help, right?"

Dusty looked back at him annoyed. "Don't patronize me. He was with me when I walked through this thing." He gestured at the portal behind him.

Nightmare nodded. "I figured as much. Chances are your brother went to a different universe, and you came here for some reason."

"Another universe. You actually expect me to believe that crap?" Dusty asked with disbelief.

"Well, how else do you explain there being three and a half judges here?" Nightmare asked.

Dusty just glared at him. "So how do I find my brother?"

"Think about him, as he is now, and try going through again. It should take you to the universe he is in." Nightmare explained.

Looking back at the portal, then at Nightmare, he wanted to ask more questions, but he needed to find his brother more. Turning, he ran through the portal again. When he came out in a stone tunnel, he nearly blew it apart before seeing that it ended mere feet in front of him and carefully moved out of it, wary of any possible threats. Looking around, he found his brother floating not too far away. "Hey, what the hell was that?" He called out.

Turning Spectre's face lit up. "DUSTY! I WAS WORRIED WHEN YOU DID NOT COME OUT OF THE PORTAL. ARE YOU OKAY?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, but why didn't you follow me?" He snapped.

"I DID. I THOUGHT WE WERE COMING HERE BECAUSE THIS IS THE PLACE I WAS TELLING YOU ABOUT." Spectre gestured around them. "IS IT NOT SO PRETTY AND CLEAR?" He asked.

Dusty finally took a moment to look at their surroundings and had to admit that the landscape was really beautiful and reminded him of how their town had looked once. Then he realized what all the stone ruin was behind. "Hey, is that our house?"

"NO, I HAVE ALREADY CHECKED IT. OUTSIDE IT LOOKS SIMILAR, BUT INSIDE IT IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. IT IS NOT OURS." Spectre shook his head sadly.

"Huh, looks pretty similar, minus all this rubble. Wonder what happened here.

Nightmare watched the portal for a second more before turning back to Axe. He was wary, but the crazy monster obviously had some sense if he had backed down from the psychopath that came through after them. "So, I've seen what you do, and while I understand it, that doesn't mean I am going to let my friends or myself end up on the other end of your blade. Maybe we can make a truce?" He offered, watching every move the other made as he swayed where he stood.

"How do you know so much about me?" Axe asked, his eyes flicking back and forth between them all. Stars he was hungry and they looked pretty healthy.

"It's a long story. One I wouldn't mind telling you over a proper lunch, one not made of other monsters?" He offered, almost positive it would work.

Instantly Axe's hand tightened on his axe and his eyes met Nightmare's mismatched ones with a ferocious intensity. "You providing? Food isn't exactly plentiful enough to just go bandying around picnics you know."

Nightmare glanced back apologetically, but it was the only way he saw them getting out of this alive. Blaster looked back, terrified, but under control now that Nightmare's miasma was controlled. Daedarath wasn't much better, but thanks to him looking back he was able to react just in time. "Dae, duck!"

She dropped instantly, just avoiding getting decapitated by Crooks, Axe's brother. "What the hell!" She grabbed Blaster and ran for the portal, stopping short when Axe jumped between her and it.

"Leaving so soon?" He cooed.

She looked back to Nightmare, "Night, do something."

He looked at Axe, "I swear on my life that we will give you food for safe passage out of here and for information. You can't harm us or the deal is off, understood." His voice shook a little. He didn't like confrontations after what happened with his last two.

Axe held his gaze for several long moments before he called out to his brother. "Crooks, we ain't eating these ones. They say they have food to buy their safety." He swung his axe up onto his shoulder. "My name is Axe and if it isn't obvious, that is also my weapon of choice." He offered a hand to shake.

"I'm Nightmare, and I'm not so stupid as to step in range of you weapon. I've seen you work." Nightmare told him, refusing the proffered hand.

Axe laughed and dropped it. "Fair enough. I assume you want me and my brother to follow you through that thing then?" He waved to the portal.

Nightmare nodded, listening as Crooks moved closer, ready to teleport if he got too close.

"And how do we know that you ain't planning on killing us for yourselves? Eh?" His eye looked over to Daedarath, looking her over again. Lots of meat there.

"I think you can tell that we have been eating more than other monsters. There is plenty of food where we are going." Nightmare told him, not missing how he eyed his companion.

"Fine. I'll go with them, and Crooks will go with you. If you are tricking us, you will pay with your lives, and it won't be quick, I assure you." Axe threatened.

"Remember, they get hurt, and you get nothing." Nightmare warned in return. He heard Crooks stop right behind him. When they go through, make sure you think of stepping out again with them or you may get lost somewhere else like that other guy did." He instructed. To Daedarath and Blaster he said "Don't do anything rash or move too fast." He looked at Axe, "He's dangerous, but I'm sure you know that."

"I don't like this Nightmare, but if this is our only way then so be it. We better live." She looked at Axe and shivered. Blaster could feel the sins of this other judge crawling all over him.

Axe stepped out of her way and bowed, letting her go ahead of him with Blaster. One more glance back at Nightmare warned not to try anything and he stepped through the portal after them.

Nightmare gave them a few moments to get free of the portal and turned to look at Crooks. The younger brother of Axe could have easily been twelve feet tall if he stood straight up, but as he was, he hunched and looked rough. Let's go bud, we are going to get you some real food." He took a few steps forward and Crooks began shambling forward as well. Nightmare knew that Crooks wasn't as slow as he looked, Out of the two, Axe was certainly the deadlier of the two, but Crooks was the real brains between them and had killed his fair share of monsters and humans for survival. "Do you want to go first or would you like me to go first?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at the giant.

Crooks looked at him, "You really have watched us. I will go first. Nobody ever talks to me." As he passed, the smell of rot hit Nightmare in the face. It was then that he realized that Crooks's clothes were made of skins, human skins. They were untreated and falling apart, but they kept him covered. Nightmare would have to see about getting him some real clothes as well.

He gave Crooks some time to get clear of the tunnel so air could pass through it and then went through the portal himself, landing back in the Alchemytale Universe and walking into a mess as Dusty got into it with Daedarath and Blaster about something.

"He is right there you idiot. Just because you can't see him, doesn't mean he isn't alive and here." Dusty whirled in place looking at an empty patch of air just above his head. "Yes you are. If you were dead, you wouldn't be here. I saved you. I did what I did to save you, it was all for you."

"There is nothing there, you are insane." Daedarath snapped, standing tall, snarky, and confident now that she was back on her home turf.

"I know I'm insane!" Snapped Dusty, spinning to look at her again, purple magic beginning to leak out his eye.

Blaster cut in. "Dae, that is not nice. Shouldn't you at least run some tests before just stating that?"

She looked at him. "I think it quite obvious. He is holding a conversation with nothing but air! Is that not a primary sign of insanity, speaking to air and pulling answers from it?"

"Not necessarily." Blaster shook his head. "Most of the scientists, myself included, do the same."

"That's not the same!" She yelled, exasperated.

Nightmare rushed past Crooks and Axe, who were watching with mild amusement. "Woah, guys, what's the problem?" He looked between them and Dusty and Spectre, who he actually could see.

"This guy who nearly killed us back there says his brother is here, but there is nobody here and he keeps talking to air!" Daedarath explained irritatedly.

Dusty looked to Nightmare, "My brother is right here. She is giving me trouble just because she is blind." He was equally aggravated, but kept his head a bit better.

Nightmare looked between them all. "So you guys can't see him?" He asked Daedarath and Blaster confused. When even Axe and Crooks shook their heads, he was surprised.

"Wait, you can see him?" Dusty asked, incredulous.

"Yeah, he's right there." Nightmare pointed directly at him with a tentacle.

Everyone was silent for a moment.

"I'm done!" Daedarath threw her hands up in the air.

Blaster just looked around lost. Deadly people were everywhere, and they were arguing over who was or wasn't sane and if something that wasn't there actually was. What was happening to his life?

"Uh, guys, how about we order some pizza, get Axe and Crooks fed, and see where we go from there, okay? Stuff like this is going to be a bit more par for course now that the gate is open." Nightmare explained, worried. "Also, can we get something for Crooks to wear? I don't think you want, uh, his clothes in your place."

Blaster looked over before blanching.

Axe just shrugged. "It's all we could get and we made it work.

Daedarath bolted, yelling over her shoulder "I'm gonna go get pizza. Good luck!"

Nightmare laughed, causing everyone but Blaster to look over concerned and horrified. The sound of someone drowning never sounded good.

"What the actual fuck?" Dusty asked, taking a step back.

Blaster answered as Nightmare was still getting himself under control. "He's just laughing. You get used to the odd sounds. Let me see if I have anything for, ah, Crooks you said?" He looked over to Axe, not wanting to actually look at Crooks. The messed up face, bent spine, and of course, human pelt skirt were not very attractive.

Axe nodded.

Looking to Nightmare, Blaster told him, "Try to keep these guys from killing each other or our universe, okay? You sort of brought them here." and began hobbling away as fast as he could.

"Okay, so the Queen went to get food, he's going to get my brother clothes, and you are supposed to keep us here. Explain how that works?" Axe leaned against the outside wall of the barrier and looked at Nightmare. Dusty copied him on a piece of the ruins that were laying around.

Looking back and forth, Nightmare realized he had been delegated by all parties as the spokesperson once again. Behind him was a half-wall that was pretty week and even though it was chilly out, nobody was rushing inside. They all wanted some space between each other as they were all dangerous in their own right. Figuring to make himself a seat, Nightmare lashed out with two of his tentacles, bringing down the wall. It made the others jump, making him laugh as he found a niche in the newly crumbled stone and sat down.

Shivering again from his twisted laughter, they made themselves comfortable again.

Nightmare started from the very beginning, and told them the entire tale, from him being originally from Dreamtale, to being outcast into the void between worlds, to coming into this one and creating the portal and finally where they were now. During that time, Blaster came out with shorts for Crooks. They barely covered anything, but it was something for now and helped clear the air of the fetid stick of rotting skin.

Eventually Daedarath came back with ten pies of pizza, not knowing how many were staying to eat or how much each would eat, considering their guests. At first, Axe and Crooks were unsure of the food, but once they saw everyone else digging in, they stole three boxes each and got to business. Blaster never ate his crusts, so Axe nabbed them and Crooks took the toppings that Dusty didn't want. By the time everyone was done, nobody was hungry.

"Damn, if food like this can be found through that thing, we might be able to save our underground by having it shipped in." Axe hummed in contentment.

"What about other undergrounds though?" Dusty asked. "If you take from another, it could lead to a similar situation there."

"Not my problem." Axe waved him off.

"Actually there is one underground that broke the barrier. You might be able to ship in from there." Nightmare volunteered.

Instantly he had Dusty's attention, as well as everyone else's.

"They broke the barrier? What happened?" Dusty asked, expecting the worst.

"Well…" Nightmare explained the universe of Underlust and how they had been received due to their particular quirk.

"And you expect us to ship in food from a place like that?" Axe asked horrified. He had gone through starvation, but rape was another matter.

"There are people who know how to manage that verse. Have them deliver to your universe and you never have to step over to that one. I'm sure we can set something up. There is no reason for you to starve when food is readily available. We could probably even get a few other universes to help. That was the original reason, beyond trying to get out of the underground and push the limits of science, that the portal was built; so that we would be able to better able to help each other.

"I don't like the idea of humans being able to get to my brother.." Dusty started before everyone spoke over him.

As the designated peacekeeper, Nightmare got them quiet and assured Dusty that only very few humans would be able to see his brother, much like very few monsters would be able to, and he doubted that anybody could touch him, physically or magically as he was now.

Dusty still grumbled and eventually said that he would stick to his universe for the time being. Getting up, he tossed Daedarath a few gold pieces and walked past Axe and Crooks, not flinching once before going back through the portal.

Axe and Crooks had a few questions about the differences between words and were mildly surprised to find out that Daedarath was not in fact the queen. Once the basic universe dynamic was explained to them, they decided to go home and would decide on their own whether they wanted to try to set up a trade route to get food to their underground and stop the genocide of their own people.

With everyone finally gone, Nightmare, Blaster and Daedarath looked at each other before the broke down simultaneously in hysterics, laughing and crying at the same time. They recounted to each other as they made their way into Blaster's home the different parts of the day that had scared them shitless; what had them bowling over laughing inside that they couldn't remark on, and eventually when they calmed down, they began to talk about what they would have to do next.


End file.
